The Girl Who Sees Ghosts
by ciaofay
Summary: Eleanor Thorn... Time Lady in hiding? The Eleventh Doctor stumbles upon her, but for some reason, he already knows who she is. Eleanor finds herself travelling with various regenerations of him, and also finds out about herself. Armed with her quick wit and fantastic friends.. how will she stop herself from falling for the Mad Man with a box? Well... She doesn't. 9,10,11/OC.
1. Meeting

"**I look forward to our next talk, Ellie." The psychiatrist said, shaking a teenage girls hand and showing her to the door.**

"**Thanks." The girl murmured, shrugging into her leather jacket and untucking trapped hair from the collar. 'Ellie' left the hospital, walking down the chilly and unforgiving late night streets, wildly looking around to see if there was anything unnatural lurking in the shadows. Nothing that she could see.**

**She could already see her mothers car parked further down the street, ready to pick her up so that she wouldn't run away or do something stupid- not her own words, but her fathers. Ellie figured that due to the lack of lighting in the street, that she could have some time to herself without having her parents constantly checking up on her.**

**You see, Ellie sees things. Ghosts, we would call them. To her, they were visitors and they were looking for something. Unfinished business the professionals would call it. The visitors called it deeds. Ellie had been seeing them on and off all of her life, they were not her imagination playing tricks on her or scary movies giving her ideas.**

**It was all very real, and very scary.**

**She finally told her parents when everything got a little dense, and she had attempted to leave home a couple of times; thinking that the visitors would leave her alone. So her parents sent her to the psychiatrist. How useful that was.**

**And now she felt like she needed some time to herself. But she was never truly by herself; there was always something lurking in the shadows. Always. There were always visitors following her, begging her for help. And that terrified her more than any scary movie or tricks of the imagination.**

**Ellie, Eleanor being her real name, turned right around and headed down the street, away from her mother. As soon as she saw the lights- and the shadowy figures and the scraping and grating voices that tugged on her body and mind and she could feel everything escalating in her mind- she ran towards them, embracing them as the psychiatrists suggested. Embrace your fear.**

**So she ran faster than she ever ran before, hoping that either it would kill them or it would break any kind of illusion that they might be. But they moved out of her way as she tumbled past them, her legs going out of control. She quickly grabbed onto a wall as quickly as she could to stagger the fall, but she still grazed her palms and the sting and shock made her eyes water. Combined with the pain, she just felt stupid. Stupid that the visitors would even leave her alone for one minute in her stupid life, or that her stupid plan would stupidly work. **

"**Stupid." She muttered.**

**And then she heard something that sang hope and triumph, she heard a different grating noise, it wasn't a cacophony of dead voices- it was mechanical, it was whirring and it was magical. Ellie started to run once more, past the row houses she was currently on, trying to find the location of the noise.**

**Finally, she pinpointed the whir, and pinpointed the thing that was making it.**

**But she couldn't see anything unusual. There was a police box, a bright blue police box. Fair enough, she had never seen one before, but she figured that they were just rare. Ellie shrugged and went to find her mother, thinking that her little adventure was quite enough for one day.**

**And then she heard the door creak open and footsteps following her. Ellie span round and her eyes widened enormously when she saw The Doctor.**

**He was alone, forever the weary traveller, the oncoming storm, the lonely angel, sweetie. Of course, Ellie didn't have a clue who he was, but there was the almost godly feel to The Doctor, and she couldn't deny the strange pull she felt towards him. He tilted his head as he saw her staring, and his eyes widened when he realized that she must have witnessed the TARDIS landing.**

"**It's your eyes playing tricks on you." He told her, twiddling his bow tie between his thumb and forefinger.**

"**Are you wearing a bow tie?" Ellie asked, how intelligent, she thought.**

"**Bow ties are cool. Never mind. I'll just be leaving then." The Doctor said, almost jogging away from Ellie.**

"**What's your name?" Ellie called after him, jogging to keep up with him.**

"**The Doctor." He replied. "Nice to meet you." And with that, he ran away. Ellie didn't want to chase a man she didn't know, so she stayed put. **

**Literally.**

**She stayed by the magic blue box for hours, ignoring her mother's phone calls. She had texted her assuring her that she was fine and dandy after all, what was there to worry about?**

**Finally, it got very late and Ellie grew tired. She had paced around the box and next to the box and up and down the street, trying to get rid of the chill settling on her bones, but nothing worked. She slowly sank to the ground, resting her back on the police box. Time passed relatively slowly, and Eleanor felt her eyes beginning to shut.**

"**This is ridiculous." Ellie whispered, trying to keep herself awake. She stood up, ignoring the numbness in her legs. She gently pushed on the door to the police box, and as a miracle, the door flew open.**

**The things it revealed made Ellie double take and her heart stopped for a second. She shut the door quickly, and ran around the TARDIS, trying to figure out how exactly a humongous room like the one she saw fit into such a small box. But then she saw the shadows moving and the lights turn off; something that often happened when faced with visitors. There was nothing else to do except enter the strange box- she wanted to escape.**

**She shut the door behind her and gasped. She jogged over the grated floor that made her footsteps clang, and ran her hands over the vibrating machinery. It was lukewarm. She turned every way she could, attempting to find some mirrors that made the place look huge or something that could have proved the impossibleness of the place. But there was nothing, there were even spiral staircases leading to probably more vast rooms, and branching columns of hallways and everything else that could make it larger. **

**Her breath knocked out of her as she sat down in a seat near the console, as she tried to take in everything she could see. She was no longer tired; the machinery had taken her exhaustion out of her. She was vitally awake.**

**She decided not to look around, this odd place was clearly 'The Doctor's' house or whatever, and it would be rude to look around… Wouldn't it?**

**She didn't get a chance to deliberate, because the door flung open and in waltzed the magic man.**

"**What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.**

"**I was cold and the door was open." Ellie said, feeling tiny.**

"**So you thought you'd just pop in?" The Doctor asked. Ellie blushed; feeling like an intruder.**

"**Sorry." She said.**

"**Are you not amazed by it?" The Doctor asked vainly, twirling around on the spot, his mood suddenly perking up.**

"**It's fascinating. It's bigger on the inside!" Ellie exclaimed. The Doctor rolled his eyes but smirked.**

"**Are you going to be leaving now, then?" He asked, unusually grumpy. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and closed his eyes. Ellie nodded, not wanting to spoil his mood even more. She slowly walked out of the TARDIS, still marvelling at the craziness of everything.**

"**Wait a minute. What's your name?" The Doctor asked, grabbing Ellie's arm to stop her from leaving.**

"**Eleanor Thorn." Ellie told him. "Ellie, for short."**

"**Hello Eleanor Thorn. Beautiful name, like a mermaid. Did you say that the TARDIS door was open?" He asked. Ellie shook her head.**

"**Not open, unlocked. It got pretty cold." She confessed.**

"**But I locked the door, I always lock my door. I'm careful about locking doors. Which means the TARDIS likes you. Why would the TARDIS like you?" The Doctor questioned, staring at Ellie.**

"**The tardis… what's that?" Ellie asked.**

"**It's this thing. Time and Relative Dimension in Space. TARDIS."**

**Like that cleared anything up.**

"**Hold on a minute, what's that?" The Doctor asked, pointing to something behind Ellie. Ellie held her breath suddenly terrified that the visitors had followed her into the TARDIS and would now haunt the wonderful man. She refused to turn around and see her stalkers that constantly hassled her for help-help that she couldn't give. They told her terrifying stories, stories that haunted her childhood and invaded her dreams. She was not in the mood for them right then.**

**The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it behind her; the electronic noises shattered the silence that resonated through the TARDIS control room. Ellie held her breathe. **

"**Moving shadows with nothing that casts them. And they follow you, they live of you. You're their energy source." The Doctor said, his eyes narrowed in confusion as he continued to stare at the figures behind her.**

"**Eleanor, stay very still." The Doctor warned.**

"**It makes no difference. They've followed me through my entire life." Ellie whispered.**

"**You knew about them?" The Doctor exclaimed, pocketing the screwdriver and turning his eyes onto Ellie.**

"**Yes. They ask me to help them with their deeds. I just don't know what to do so they don't leave me alone. They never leave me alone and I'm so sick of them." Ellie complained. "My parents make me see psychiatrists who are convinced that I am mental, my friends think I'm absolutely crazy because I see things they can't and I'm utterly miserable." She shouted, spinning round and aiming her shouts at the creatures. A fat tear snaked sadly down her cheek. The Doctor placed a reassuring hand on her arm.**

"**I'll fix this." He told her. Ellie smiled gratefully and turned away from the demons of her childhood. "But first, we have the small problem of figuring out exactly why they like you. Maybe they're attracted to physical appearances, which would make sense. You're a pretty girl." My cheeks instantly blushed, which caused one of his eyebrows to lift. "But somehow I don't think that's right. Your spirit? But children are still finding themselves. So are teenagers. How old are you?" He asked her.**

"**Fifteen." She replied, hating how young she felt.**

"**So young." The Doctor whispered, closing his eyes.**

"**Are you ok?" Ellie asked. "You seem a bit… broody." She said, struggling for the right words.**

"**Pft! I'm The Doctor; I'm never 'broody', just a bit sentimental." He replied, spinning around manically on the spot and causing Ellie to step back a little, surprised at his quick actions.**

"**I think they just latched on to you. Nothing to worry about though, Eleanor." The Doctor said, grinning as he tapped some buttons on the TARDIS controls. "Ellie." Ellie corrected, stepping forward to watch The Doctor work his magic.**

** "I'll be calling you Eleanor." The Doctor replied.**

"**What's your real name? It can't just be The Doctor..." Ellie said, leaning her elbows on the controls and resting her chin in her palms.**

**The Doctor stopped to watch her expression as he said, "The Doctor is my real name. It's really it." He insisted; smirking as Ellie knitted her eyebrows together.**

"**Curiouser and curiouser." Ellie whispered. The Doctor continued with his work.**

"**We're going to try and give them what they want. It's only a small bunch of people. A family I'm guessing. We finish what is unfinished and hopefully they'll be on their way." **

"**What will happen to me?"**

"**You'll live a relatively normal life and be relatively happy."**

**Ellie shrugged. "I just can't imagine that right now."**

"**You've got a lovely accent, where are you from?" **

"**New York." She replied. "We moved here a few years ago, to try and escape. My parents thought that a new area would make me be normal. They want a normal kid, not a freak like me." Ellie said, a tear threatening to escape. The Doctor glared at her.**

"**Don't be thick. You seem bright, but then you were just thick. Your parents tried to help you, not move you away from things." He reprimanded. Ellie looked at the floor, as if it held the secrets to life.**

"**Sorry for being thick." Ellie said, smirking. The Doctor joined in with her smirk, and suddenly smashed a hand on one of the buttons and grinned as he turned around to face the visitors.**

"**What have you done?" Ellie asked, wondering what he was looking so victorious at. The sight made her want to buy new eyes.**

**Her visitors had changed into what she could only describe as rotting people. They looked normal; they were no longer glowly and silhouettey. They were people, fleshy, bloody, livey people. Yet they looked so _alien_ that it made Ellie gasp.**

**Their skin was a grey, almost purpley grey. Their eyes were bloodshot, they had hardly any hair and what little they had was an icy white colour. They had no teeth; their clothes were tattered and torn. And The Doctor was right; they were a family. Parents and three children, all wearing clothes that looked about 70 years old. Ellie couldn't help but gasp at the sight of the things that had been following her around for her life.**

"**It's alright." The Doctor assured her, placing a hand on her elbow and rubbing little circles on her skin lightly. "Their not going to hurt us. Well, they could. Well, they would if they were a little bit younger and agile." The Doctor said, grinning as he strode over to the family.**

**The family had their eyes glued to every move the man made, and it unnerved Ellie. **

"**Doctor, they're watching you."**

"**Thanks for that, Eleanor." The Doctor said sarcastically, but he sent a little smile her way.**

"**What do you want, hm?" The Doctor asked, bending down a little so that he was eye to eye with one of the children. The child tilted her head to the side as she stared into The Doctor's eyes.**

"**Wow. You've stalked a girl for the whole of her fifteen years to ask for something she couldn't possibly give you?" The Doctor asked, wincing as if the thought pained him. "You've been feeding of her energy, the energy of all the possible things that she could do. That's ridiculous, but genius. Yet ridiculous. She's human, as human as I am. She couldn't get you to another planet. Until she met me." The Doctor said, and winked at Ellie. **

"**Another planet?" She squeaked. The Doctor nodded at her, so she did her best to control her panic.**

"**But you're so bursting with human energy that if you go to your planet, you'll pass it on. It could, and I'm saying could because it is only a very small possibility that it could, create a lot of fuss over you. You could be murdered for the amount of energy you have stored inside you. You know how strict the Pheer are with outsiders." The Doctor reasoned with them. The father of the family started to mutter words very quietly, so quietly that Ellie couldn't hear, but The Doctor could. However, she could hear his side of the conversation.**

"**I know she is. Yes, well yes. No. You could be killed. Fair enough. Yes. Two minutes." The Doctor said, he walked back over to me. **

"**We're taking them back to their planet. Their unfinished business is their apparently, and they need our help." **

"**I don't want to go to another planet!" Ellie complained, crossing her arms over her chest. **

"**Ah but that's the best bit! You can't miss out on the best bit! You'll love it!" The Doctor exclaimed, pushing buttons and pulling random levers.**

"**So what, this is like a… spaceship?" She asked, ignoring his exclamation and figuring that she needed some excitement. Plus, the man was clearly crazy.**

**To her disappointment, something did happen. The machine burst into life, and she heard the odd noise that she heard outside after seeing the visitors, and she felt the ground moving beneath her feet and everything moved a little too fast and she was thrown to the floor.**

"**Sorry!" The Doctor shouted, "Forgot to tell you to hold on!" And with that he smirked and braced himself for another bumpy section.**

"**What the hell are you?" Ellie exclaimed.**

"**I'm The Doctor."**

"**No. What are you?" Ellie asked again.**

**The Doctor sighed, and when the machine landed, he held a hand out for Ellie to grab. **

"**I'm a time lord. An alien. I travel through time and space and solve things. Now let's go!" He said.**

"**So when you said, 'she's as alien as me,' does that mean I'm not human?" Ellie asked eyes wide as she tugged on The Doctor's sleeve. Surely, she must be human? She followed him, bug eyed as he opened the TARDIS door and motioned for her stalkers to follow. **

**Ellie stayed inside the vessel, feeling relatively safer than she would if she ventured outside. The light outside was so bright that Ellie had to shield her eyes and she wasn't even outside. The Doctor popped his head back into the TARDIS to see what she was doing.**

"**This is a little overwhelming." Ellie confessed. "I don't even know who you are." **

**The Doctor didn't say anything; he just stood there, waiting for her to move.**

**When Ellie gathered her courage and did move towards the door, The Doctor held his hand out for her to grab and grinned as she smiled a little.**

"**This is going to be fun!" The Doctor exclaimed, like an excited child. **


	2. The Court of the Pheer

_**Hello! I just wanted to say that from now on I'm going to indicate who's point of view it's from, I want to write from Eleanor's perspective so much! Oh, and if you think that it's gross that Eleanor is going to have a romance with the Doctor (she's only 15), it's not going to be like that. At all. EW. And by the way, this isn't really following the plot from the series. The Doctor knows who Amy Pond and Rory are, but River Song isn't in it for obvious reasons. He's just travelling alone, nothing related to the series. Thanks for reading~**_

**(Eleanor's POV)**

_**~Recap~**_

_**The Doctor didn't say anything; he just stood there, waiting for her to move.**_

_**When Ellie gathered her courage and did move towards the door, The Doctor held his hand out for her to grab and grinned as she smiled a little.**_

"_**This is going to be fun!" The Doctor exclaimed, like an excited child. **_

**He pulled me out of the TARDIS, keeping a careful watch on the family in front of us.**

"**Are they human?" I asked The Doctor, pointing to the strange people.**

"**No, they're race is called Pheer. Not like fear. They don't live to scare people; they're actually a race built on harmony and justice. They're very military. They turn into shadows when dying; they're a bit odd like that. But they have all this energy, potential energy from you actually. That have it inside their bodies, their government won't be able to recognise them. So their 'unfinished business' isn't dying business, they just wanted to go home." The Doctor explained.**

**The thought of those things feeding of my energy made me want to cringe and convulse. The Doctor rubbed little circles on my hand, which made me feel relatively better.**

"**And what really are you?" I asked, not wanting to offend him. "You're obviously human, not alien like you said. But you know so much. And you have a spaceship." I concluded. Oh God, he really was an alien.**

**The Doctor looked down at me and grinned as we followed the family to their high court, I suppose.**

"**I'm a time lord. I watch over the whole of time and space and sort of… protect Earth. And other planets. But I quite like Earth. Humans are funny." He informed me, pushing me a little with his shoulder. I smirked, not quite believing my predicament. I was holding hands with a man I never met, walking in a _bright_ distant planet, following strange ghost zombie looking things whilst walking to their high court. Oh, and they were feeding of me for fifteen years. Ew.**

**We continued in a comfortable silence, my mind was full of unanswered questions; but it was not the time to ask them. I was still clutching The Doctor's hand. We had gathered a crowd of faintly translucent and wavery people, with the same rank condition as my stalker family. They were either pointing, or muttering quietly to each other; we had obviously caused quite the scandal. Either that or the family were in a lot of trouble with their government. **

**My mind was too busy trying to comprehend all this information to truly understand what was happening, it felt like a surreal and crazy dream. I regretted- but at the same time didn't- not just going home like I should have done and continued with the boring daily routine that I call my life. But then I wouldn't have met The Doctor, and despite knowing him for a VERY short time, I was already intrigued. Typical Eleanor.**

**Finally, the family in front of us stopped and turned to look at us. The three children looked as if they were crying, their tainted skin dampening with dewy tears slipping down their cheeks. I felt a pang of sympathy for them; I felt awful for feeling disgusted by them. (They were super gross though.)**

**The Doctor walked a little in front of me, untangling our hands and motioning for me to stay put. He leaned into the father as he whispered to him and again I could only hear half the conversation.**

"**We will come with you... Yes, no… she's not angry… I'm sure if you apologized…. It wasn't your fault….. She'll understand, she's a great person…. You'll be fine, I'll back you up. You're not going to be banished… Five minutes? That's fine." And with that, The Doctor turned to me and told me what had happened in the other half of the conversation.**

"**They feel terrible for feeding of your potential energy. It will have drained you sometimes, and they didn't really understand what they were doing. So we're going to have to go in court with them to protect them. I'm sorry but you're going to be used as evidence." He informed me.**

"**I'm not leaving you." I panicked, not wanting to be touched or manhandled by those things… alone.**

"**I won't leave you. I wouldn't do that. But you're going to have to explain to important Pheer people." The Doctor warned me, squeezing my hand reassuringly. "We have five minutes until we go in."**

"**Wait, do they not speak in a different language?" I asked him, my lingual skills were poorly lacking.**

"**The TARDIS translates every language for you, in your head. It's a time traveller perk." He said, winking and smiling at me. I smiled back.**

"**That is so cool." I said, impressed. A machine could translate languages for you… when you weren't anywhere near it? Totally boss.**

**The Doctor's smirk widened, and then he said, "Three minutes." And my stomach twisted in anticipation. In three minutes I would have to stick up for the creepy family and I didn't have a clue what to say.**

**The three minutes passed rather quickly, and suddenly, a large group of Pheer's (dressed in business suits, it looked ridiculous) were grabbing the poor families arms and dragging them into a grand and over the top building.**

**It was made entirely of glass, or it could have been crystal… or diamond. There were a myriad of domes perched on top, laced with decorations in gold. Very unnecessary. And then suddenly, the Doctor's hand was ripped from mine and I was being dragged away by tough and definitely strong Pheer's, who were doing the same to The Doctor. I gasped and struggled and kicked against their attack on us, surely they could have just asked for us to walk in?**

"**This is completely unnecessary!" I shouted at them. "Like your stupid building!" I said, throwing it in to try and annoy them. I glanced at The Doctor, who was smirking at my remark. He clearly thought the same. **

**Eventually, I gave up fighting the Pheer's and did as The Doctor did, and just let them drag me inside. The inside of the building was just as grand as the outside, maybe even more so.**

**It was all dark red wallpaper with gold plated flower decoration. Very not my style. I winced as they dumped me on the floor. Surely not the right way to treat a guest to your planet?**

"**You will stand." One of the Pheer people said. The Doctor stood first, and I followed suit; unsure of what I was to do.**

"**Your names." The other said, pulling a notepad out of his pocket. I was amazed that these people were even capable of doing tasks, the family were so useless and they couldn't even speak loud. They didn't look any better though, still dismembered shadow zombies. **

"**The Doctor." The Doctor said. **

"**Eleanor Thorn." I told them afterwards. He noted down our names.**

"**Where are you from?" The Pheer asked.**

"**Tell the truth Eleanor. Gallifrey." The Doctor said. I gazed at him slightly shocked. He really was an alien then.**

"**Earth." I said.**

"**Gallifrey? Are you time lord?" **

**The Doctor nodded. "Yup. That's me." He sounded sad when he said that and I had the desire to run over to him and cuddle him.**

"**You may proceed." The Pheer replied, not even glancing at me, all of his attention was on The Doctor. The Pheer that had pulled me into the room now helped me up and led myself and The Doctor into a waiting room. **

"**Better service." The Doctor noted. "I think I impressed them." I snorted.**

**The Doctor grinned and nudged me a little.**

"**So, your first out of Earth experience. What's it like?" He asked.**

"**Confusing and a little bit rude. Wait… you said first. What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.**

**The Doctor's gaze turned steely.**

"**Nothing." And then he cheered up. "Glad you're enjoying it anyway."**

**We sat for approximately ten seconds before we were summoned into the court room. **

**I gasped at the sight of all the obscure people sat in the room. There were all different races of people, some ladies that had cat faces and fur. Fur! There were some rather strange slimy looking things with bald heads, tentacles and they were holding balls connected to their faces.**

"**What the hell are they?" I asked The Doctor, pointing to the creatures.**

"**Aw, they're the ood. We love a good ood." The Doctor said, smiling at the odd ood. Weird.**

**The Doctor and I were led into a witness box, and all eyes were on us.**

**For about ten minutes, there was various talking throughout the crowd, and I was having a hard time controlling my nerves. I still didn't know exactly what I was supposed to say to save these people, and actually, I didn't know why I had to save these people.**

**Finally, the court master stood up and told everyone to shut up and sit down. Everyone shut up and sat down.**

**He introduced the case and then asked the family what they were doing.**

**The father of the family spoke for them, as usual.**

"**We were travelling to Earth; we thought we were still in our time zone, although of course, time is not fixed in a straight line. We got lost on Earth a long time into our past and we didn't know what to do. People wouldn't know who we were, or how to help us get back home. We were stranded with no way of return. Eleanor was the first person we found, so we fed on her potential energy. We didn't know it could cause her harm, and so far it hasn't. We really didn't mean anything bad by it, we just needed to survive. And then we started not only to feed on her energy, but we also absorbed it, which explains why we are full of human energy."**

**Wow, they could actually speak loud.**

"**You could have harmed a human significantly. It was not your risk to take. By what means did you return here?" The court master asked.**

"**The man flew us here in his spaceship." The mother said, pointing at The Doctor. Once again, all eyes were on us.**

"**Ah, this brings us to The Doctor and Eleanor." He said.**

"**Yes, your honour." The Doctor said.**

"**When you found our Pheer, what were they doing?" The court master asked.**

"**Stalking Eleanor. They were hidden in her shadow, waiting for choices she might make or actions she may consider doing. They weren't hurting her, it didn't hurt her once. Although I agree, it wasn't their decision to feed of her, really Eleanor should have decided. Although, they didn't know that." The Doctor tried to explain.**

"**Eleanor, did you know the family were following you?" The court master asked me.**

"**I knew they were with me. I just didn't know what they were or what they were doing. I thought they were ghosts." I added, helplessly. The court master smirked, as did various other members of the jury.**

"**Well, this was easy. The Crom family, you get a month in community service for the possible killing of a human with no consent. Thank you. However, then there is the issue of you two." The court master said, turning to The Doctor and I.**

"**You interfered. You tried to help when it was not your place to. And now you must serve your time for preventing the course of justice."**

"**But how did we prevent it? We brought the family straight here and straight to your court!" I exclaimed, struggling against some of the Pheer trying to handcuff me. The Doctor was doing the same.**

**But the court master wasn't listening, he didn't care.**

"**Where are you taking us?" I asked helplessly. Great, now I was going to die for my stupid visitors. Fucking brilliant. I rolled my eyes as The Doctor and I were led away from the courtroom.**

**I watched sneakily as The Doctor pulled a stick thing from his pocket and scanned his handcuffs, which sprung open and left him useful. He immediately punched the Pheer and ran to me, unlocking myself and punching my Pheer. I watched as he fell to the ground, knocked out.**

"**Quite a punch." I told him, impressed. "What do we do now?" I asked.**

"**Run." The Doctor said, holding his hand out for me to grab. I did so and sprinted aimlessly as he dragged us through halls and corridors. **

**We were soon outside and sprinting into the TARDIS. He shut the door behind him and breathed erratically.**

"**Is that it? The family are saved and I can go home?" I asked.**

**The Doctor looked disappointed, as if he expected me to be ecstatic about our near death.**

"**The family are fine; they can cope with community service. Now you're free of them. You'll find that you have more energy and more thinking power too." He informed me. He started to whack buttons and spin dials on the control pad. I watched, still trying to catch my breath as he worked, not looking at me once.**

"**Hold on to something." He told me, and I grabbed onto the console for my life. The vessel swung this way and that, attempting to fling me across the room, but I held on.**

**We landed with a bang, and I hoped we hadn't landed on someone, or a cat or something. Thankfully, it was a back alley we had landed in. Near to my house too. **

**I was quite sad to say goodbye to The Doctor, I had had a strange time defending the family, as rank as they may have been. I knew that tomorrow I would think this would be a crazy dream and that I should relish this happiness for as long as I could, the happiness of the impossible being possible.**

**But then as I stepped out of the TARDIS into the crisp night air, The Doctor tapped me on the shoulder.**

"**You could always have another go if you wanted. I could pick something more interesting than a court room. We could go to the…. 60's? Everyone wants to go there." The Doctor said.**

"**I have school." I told him. He shrugged.**

"**I'm a very clever man." He told me. I was seriously considering joining him, but I had my family, my friends, my education and future. But then again, it was one more journey. I wasn't going to lose that much time, right?**

"**And that would be ok with you? I wouldn't be imposing or anything?" I asked.**

"**Of course not. I love travelling with people." He said, grinning a little manically. I grinned back and nodded, climbing back on board the great ship.**

"**Great. So, the 60's then?" He asked, ruffling my hair. **

"**Oh yes." I confirmed, feeling ecstatic as his eyes gleamed and his smile lit up the room.**


	3. Esther

_**~Recap~**_

"_**And that would be ok with you? I wouldn't be imposing or anything?" I asked.**_

"_**Of course not. I love travelling with people." He said, grinning a little manically. I grinned back and nodded, climbing back on board the great ship.**_

"_**Great. So, the 60's then?" He asked, ruffling my hair. **_

"_**Oh yes." I confirmed, feeling ecstatic as his eyes gleamed and his smile lit up the room.**_

**(Eleanor's POV)**

**The journey was bumpy, like the first. This time, I held on and watched The Doctor as he grinned at me. I smiled back, but a part of me was worried.**

**I didn't quite know what I was worried about, but it was definitely there. I was travelling with an alien… an alien!**

**I shoved the thought to the back of my head and concentrated on what was happening.**

**When we landed, it was relatively gentle; which surprised me. I put my jacket on and took The Doctor's eager hand once again, and allowed him to pull me outside.**

"**1965, brilliant year. Wait! Do you want to dress the part? The girls usually like that bit." The Doctor asked, pulling her back to the TARDIS. **

**Dress the part? Now that sounded positive. The Doctor led me past various corridors and up a twisty staircase, into a massive closet. I glanced around, noticing the various different fabrics and colours and my eyes rose at some of them.**

**I immediately followed The Doctor to where he was rifling through the clothes.**

"**These would fit in, I think." The Doctor said, pulling out a number of dresses for me; all beautiful, yet what to wear? **

**The 1960's was a brilliant time for fashion, and now I could wear it without looking a little bit crazy. I went into a changing room and looked at them all. After staring for what seemed like a century, five of the six dresses fell onto the floor, all at the same time. I glanced at the TARDIS and patted the wall of the changing room; assuming that she had picked the right dress for me.**

"**Thanks." I whispered. It was a mini dress. It was white, and a chiffon type fabric with a black peter pan collar. It was gorgeous. To go with it was some red ballet flats and a vintage scarf, which I tied around my long and wavy copper coloured hair after I tied it up. I completed the look with some winged eye liner and dark red lipstick, which contrasted with my milky white skin and bright blue eyes.**

**I left the changing rooms and with a twirl, I grinned at The Doctor as he took in my new attire.**

"**Very nice." He said, grinning and taking my arm. I noted that he hadn't changed. He was still wearing the bow tie too. Once again we went outside, and I smiled as I saw couples and parents and teenagers and children walking around, clearly all from the 1960's. There was a taste of freedom in the air, and music was coming from somewhere. The Beatles to be precise. How stereotypical. I grinned and pulled some shades out of my pocket, red heart shaped.**

"**I'm guessing you liked dressing up then?" The Doctor asked, grinning as he pulled some tea shades out and put them on too.**

"**Don't we look the part?" I noted, sounding rather smug.**

"**Quite." He replied. **

**Our musings were cut short by a high pitched and female scream resonating through the air. I glanced around wildly, trying to find where it was coming from. The Doctor however, seemed to know. He set of running, and I figured that running was something he did often.**

**I followed him, dodging people and smiling as I tried not to look suspicious.**

**The Doctor suddenly took a turn around a corner, causing me to have to stop to run back a little; as I had carried on running. **

**When I reached the road he had sprinted down, he had disappeared. Completely gone. I didn't have a clue where he was. I groaned; trust me to get lost on my first visit. I closed my eyes and tried to listen to see if I could hear him.**

**Maybe if I tried really, really hard; he would come to me.**

**(Esther's POV)**

**I had my eyes squeezed tightly shut, and my fists clenched by my sides. I had tried to fight them, I really had.**

"**Forgive me, my love." I whispered, as the beasts latched onto me. And then he was there, my saviour. He was a man with wisdom in his eyes and sadness in his heart, and he also had the best hair I had ever seen and a bow tie.**

"**Help me!" I shouted, reaching out to him as much as I could. He spotted me at once and rushed over to me, throwing off the men and slamming a hand onto my neck, trying to stop the bleeding.**

"**How bad is it?" I whispered, begging for the truth with my eyes.**

"**Manageable." He replied, pulling me along behind him, his eyes wary and watching.**

"**What the hell are they?" I exclaimed. He stopped walking and looked down at me, his hand still attempting to stop the bleeding.**

"**Vampires, although not as you think they are." He informed me. Vampires?**

"**Not as I think they are?" I enquired.**

"**They don't feed on humans usually, and if they do then they're usually half vampire. Sorry." The man told me.**

"**You're mad." I shouted at him. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm half vampire?" **

"**Well they don't like any other race except their own, so they only feed on their own race."**

"**Race? You speak as if there are other races." I exclaimed, stepping a way from him and slapping his hand away from my neck, replacing it with my own.**

**He simply stared at me, his eyebrows in his air as if was confirming that there were other races other than humans. I glared at him, and ran away from the manic man.**

**He followed me, of course.**

"**I need to get you to my ship; they drained a lot of your blood." The man told me, trying to reason with me.**

"**I don't know who you are. You could kill me or… anything!" I shouted.**

**He smirked. "Do I look like the kind of man who would kill you?" He asked. "I'm The Doctor. And I'm going to make you better." He informed me.**

"**There's nothing wrong with me!" I shouted.**

**Suddenly, I felt a little woozy, as if I was going to faint. My lips were tingling.**

"**And 3, 2, 1." The Doctor counted down.**

**And then everything went black.**

**(Eleanor's POV)**

**It was quite strange, what happened next. One minute I was lost in the middle of a street, with people staring at- the next I was in the TARDIS, right in front of the Doctor actually.**

"**Whoa. Hello Eleanor." He said, looking confused. "How did you get here?"**

"**I don't know." I stammered. "I just kind of, willed myself to be here." I explained.**

"**I'm sorry you got lost, but I had to help. It's sort of what I do. Well, what I try to do. Well, I do it most of the time." The Doctor stammered, I smirked.**

"**It's fine, don't worry about it." I assured him, patting his hand. And then I saw her, slumped on a chair near the TARDIS console.**

"**Who's that?" I asked. She was very pretty. She had long and wavy ginger hair, and very plump lips. She had makeup similar to my own, and she had flowers pinned to her hair. The look was completed with high waisted shorts and a chiffon long sleeved shirt. I would go as far to say that she was the prettiest girl I'd seen. And she was passed out, with blood congealing on her neck.**

"**She got bitten." The Doctor told me, injecting something into her arm.**

"**By what?" I asked.**

"**Vampires." The Doctor told me. "She's half vampire. You see, vampires are the vainest creatures to exist. Well, this type anyway. They love themselves so much that they will only feed on someone in their own race. It can cause quite the scandal." He said, winking at me. I felt my cheeks blush.**

"**What are you going to do with her?" I asked, noticing a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead and nape of her neck.**

"**Fix her up and then find the vampires. Try to reason with them, tell them to go back to wherever they came from. Which admittedly, rarely ever works. So I'm guessing that I will have to think of something clever and do some running."**

"**Sounds like a good plan." I said, smirking. He grinned back, and checked the girl's vitals.**

"**How did I just get here, Doctor?" I whispered, my smile disappearing. Surely, transporting into a machine because you just willed yourself to do so is not something I should be able to do. The Doctor ignored me however, and I knew that he probably wasn't going to tell me anytime soon. I sighed and brushed the beautiful curls out of the girls face, trying to help him.**

"**What's her name?" I asked.**

"**Don't have a clue. Probably something old fashioned like…" He struggled for a name.**

"**Rosalind." I said. His gaze turned steely.**

"**Rosalind?" He asked.**

"**That's an old fashioned name…" I stammered, turning red; although I wasn't quite sure why. "Doctor, are you OK?"**

"**I had a friend called Rose. A long time ago. I'm fine."**

"**Oh, sorry." I said, although I wasn't sure why-again. He ignored me-again. I sighed-again.**

**I could see that travelling with The Doctor would be full of sighs, either out of frustration or wonderment. **

**We waited for about ten minutes for 'Rosalind' to wake up, and when she finally did, I felt very plain in comparison. It made sense for her to be a vampire.**

"**Oh no, not you again." She complained, pointing to The Doctor. I giggled, I couldn't help it. The Doctor glared at me, and the girl turned to me.**

"**Help me." She whispered, coarsely. I could see that girl power was going to be a major part of today.**

"**Everything's fine. What's your name?" I asked.**

"**Esther." She replied. The Doctor looked at me with a knowing look.**

"**I'm Eleanor. Please listen to me, Esther. The Doctor is a good man, he will help you. You don't have to be scared." I assured her, although I didn't even know whether I was lying or telling the truth. The Doctor smiled at me, and placed a hand on the small of my back.**

**She didn't say anything; she just gazed at me with what I recognised as friendship.**

"**And, if he annoys you or upsets you; you can just hit him." I advised her, grinning as she smirked and hit The Doctor's arm lightly. His eyes widened and he backed off from the both of us.**

"**Hey! Oh no, never a good thing to get two girls together, never! They work together, like ants. That's what you are, you're ants!" He gasped. I shook my head, Esther did the same.**

"**So who actually are you?" Esther asked, sitting up straight instead of slouched in her chair.**

"**We're travellers. Well, we travel through time… and space." The Doctor said, rubbing a hand through his hair and shrugging. Esther gasped, although she couldn't disagree with it, because she understood both what she was and how strange the world was now. She had seen the TARDIS, which meant that she would accept things a little easier; or so I gathered.**

"**You're time travellers?" She asked.**

"**Oh yes." The Doctor said, smiling. "We're from your future, and we're here to help."**


	4. Blood Wishes

_**~Recap~**_

_**Esther gasped, although she couldn't disagree with it, because she understood both what she was and how strange the world was now. She had seen the TARDIS, which meant that she would accept things a little easier; or so I gathered.**_

"_**You're time travellers?" She asked.**_

"_**Oh yes." The Doctor said, smiling. "We're from your future, and we're here to help."**_

"**How's my neck?" She asked, gently feeling around for any signs of cuts or bruises.**

"**I healed you, using some of my energy. No need to get into details. We've still got those vampires to sort out first!" The Doctor exclaimed, pulling both Esther and myself out of the TARDIS by our hands.**

**The Doctor led us to the middle of a large crowd, which I didn't really understand.**

"**Doctor, surely it would be safer to get away from people?" I asked him.**

"**The vampires will be drawn to the people, searching for others of their kind. It just makes my life a little easier." He assured us both.**

"**You're not going to give me to them, are you Doctor?" Esther asked, gasping for air as if having a panic attack.**

"**Of course not!" The Doctor exclaimed; looking shocked at the fact that she actually said that.**

"**What do we do then?" She asked, looking panic ridden. I couldn't really blame her. I didn't want to face the vampires, but I knew that they wouldn't be attracted to me. They could attack Esther at any time and there's nothing she could do about it.**

**Well, if she didn't have The Doctor's hand entwined with her own; which was comforting me so it must have been comforting her also.**

"**We wait." The Doctor muttered, looking in every possible direction he could, searching for the vampires. I was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that vampires actually existed, I had always shunned vampire stories- they were make believe! But now if they existed, what else could exist? That thought sent a chill down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I shivered delicately, really regretting wear a mini dress in England's winter. The Doctor sensed my discomfort, so took off his thick, coarse jacket and draped it over my shoulders. I gratefully snuggled into it, loving the warm feel of The Doctor. And the smell! Well it smelt of space and magic and infinity, whatever that smelt like.**

**It smelt like freedom and adventure and liberty; and I knew that this wasn't going to be my last trip in the TARDIS.**

**I would make sure of it.**

**We didn't have to wait long for the vampires to turn up, a savage look in their eyes and their eyes a bloodshot yellow colour. The thing that shocked me was that they weren't that attractive like legends told them to be. I actually considered The Doctor to be more attractive than all three of them put together. I had always thought that the attractiveness of vampires is what drew humans to them. Strange.**

**Or… maybe their odd appearance would repel humans, seeing as they disliked them so much. Everything made a little bit more sense then.**

"**She will be coming with us." One of them said, he had white blonde hair and a smug expression on his face that I just wanted to slap off. The Doctor stood a little taller and ever so slightly raised his chin, to show that he was dominant in that situation.**

"**No, she's staying with me." He informed the gentlemen.**

**Esther cleared her throat, and for the first time, everyone turned to look at her.**

"**Do I not get a say in this?" Esther spoke up. Her face had a steely look of determination.**

"**What?" A second vampire said, he had dark hair and bright red lips, and he was definitely the scariest looking out of the three of them. And his voice, I shied away from him and he sent me a disgusted look, which I interpreted as, "Why would I even want to feed from you?"**

**Esther shook off The Doctor's hand and stepped forward. "You can have me if it means these two can leave." She informed the vampires.**

**The Doctor started to shake his head.**

"**No you don't." He said, pulling her back by her waist. She slapped his hands away.**

"**Yes I do, Doctor! You saved me, but if I'm one of them then surely I should be with them?" She asked.**

"**Could you really kill, Esther? Because if you join them then you will have to kill… so many people. Do you really want the last of your humanity to disappear?" He asked, begging for her to listen.**

**Esther looked a little upset by this, but she still nodded her head. I had to give it to her, she was stubborn.**

"**I don't care. It's part of me, they're part of me. I can't deny that." She said, and I refused to look at her. She was basically spitting on The Doctor's efforts and saying that she would rather be a vampire than be helped by him.**

**The Doctor shrugged. "I won't help a killer, then. If that's your decision then I'll be off." He said, dragging my hand and marching quickly off. **

"**Well that was fairly easy." I said, once we were back at the TARDIS. The Doctor was brooding, sat on the same chair that Esther had passed out on, with his hands running through his hair.**

"**I just can't understand why any human would wish that on themselves." The Doctor tried to reason, and I didn't quite know what to say.**

**And then she burst through the TARDIS doors. It was The Doctor's fault really, he hadn't even bothered to try and move them away from this time period. **

**Esther was slamming the door when the Doctor realised who it was and stood up, looking rather angry.**

"**What are you doing?" He shouted, facing Esther square on.**

"**I couldn't do it, what you said. I didn't know I would be turned fully into one of them, I thought they would just kill me." She reasoned with him, panting and tapping her hair back into place. She had been running, which meant…**

"**Doctor! They could be following her!" I exclaimed. He straight away went to the door and bolted it.**

"**They can't get in now." He assured me.**

"**You made the right choice." The Doctor said to Esther, who smiled gratefully at his understanding.**

"**But what are we going to do about them?" I asked him, and he shook his head.**

"**I'm hoping and praying that this will work." The Doctor muttered, as he sprinted away into a far away room in the TARDIS.**

**Esther looked uncomfortable.**

"**It's OK, Esther. It's nearly over now. How old are you?" I asked.**

"**Seventeen." She told me, I nodded.**

"**I'm fifteen." Her eyebrows raised a little.**

"**And how old is he, and what… he's your boyfriend?" She asked.**

**I spluttered. "We're just friends." I assured her, feeling my cheeks warm up, to which she smirked. "And I don't know how old he is actually." I said fondly, although I wasn't quite sure why.**

**She nodded, understandingly. We stayed in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes until The Doctor ran back into the control room, two syringes in his hands and three vials.**

"**Doctor, what the hell are you going to do?" I asked. He didn't smirk like he normally would have done; he had a sombre look of determination set in his eyes.**

**He walked over to Esther, and bent down so that he was gazing into her eyes. She looked taken aback by his forwardness. **

"**This isn't going to hurt but you have to trust me, can you do that for me?" The Doctor asked her. Esther simply nodded, there wasn't a whole lot else she could do.**

**The Doctor pulled syringe out of its sterilised packaging and stuck it into his arm, pulling some blood out of him and pouring equal amounts of it into each of the three vials. Then he did the same for Esther, while I was left wondering what the hell was going on. He swirled the bloody mixture around, probably to mix it. The thought made me cringe. The Doctor then told us to stay put, which I didn't intend to do, although I wasn't sure about Esther. The Doctor left the TARDIS, and after a minute of him being gone, I stood up.**

"**Are you coming?" I asked, heading for the door.**

"**Yep." She replied, which surprised me; I thought she would have stayed in safety.**

**We smiled at each other bravely, before leaving the ship. **

**Of course we didn't know where to find him. But this is the odd thing, I felt his energy tugging for me to follow him, pulling my body towards him. I felt this before, when I lost him the first time. I quickly grabbed Esther's hand and in a matter of a second we had shifted to being right next to The Doctor.**

"**That's incredible, how did you do that?" She asked.**

"**I've not got a clue." I said, a little breathless. I dropped her hand and walked to The Doctor, who was waiting for the vampires to show up again. He glared at the both of us, but mostly me and definitely some of it was because he was confused as to how the hell I could track him like that.**

"**I always tell them to stay, but they never listen do they?" He muttered, rolling his eyes and sparing me a quick wink. I smiled back and together we waited for the vampires to return.**

**Again, it only took a matter of minutes and the creepy threesome was stood in front of us. **

"**You can't have Esther, but I'm bargaining here with you. And this is a rather big bargain, and you're incredibly lucky that I'm allowing you it." The Doctor told them, his voice angry and thick with fury.**

**He handed a vial to each of them, and I was still confused as to what his plan was.**

"**It's a sample of her blood. Drink it; it's all you're getting from her." The Doctor told them, the same angry tone in his voice.**

**All three vampires did just that, and quickly downed the blood. I averted my eyes, now was not a time for throwing up.**

**And then The Doctor cheered up immensely. **

"**But that's not all it contained. Wow, you're immensely thick. As if I would just give you her blood and not adulterate it. Now I'm going to make this quick because in a few minutes you're going to die, and I'm sorry but that's the way it is. I put some of my blood in there, Time Lord Blood. And let's hypothesise and say that Time Lord Blood is very very bad for vampires, what would happen?" He asked, clearly enjoying his little moment.**

**The vampires turned whiter than they already were and looked at The Doctor with such fury that if looks could kill, The Doctor would be dead… three times.**

"**We'd combust." One of them gasped.**

"**Exactly!" The Doctor shouted. "The raw power and energy in my blood is not capable of staying in your cold hearted veins, you would literally set on fire. This incidentally, is exactly what is going to happen. There is nothing hypothetical about this." The Doctor told them, smirking away as if he hadn't a care in the world. His triumph of course made me start to smile too, and Esther soon joined in.**

"**Doctor, if they're going to start burning, shouldn't we move?" I ask.**

"**Oh yeah! Quite right, well done Eleanor. RUN!" He shouted, not just to us, but to everyone around. **

**And we did run. We ran throughout the city until we got to the TARDIS, and I couldn't be happier to be back onboard. **

**After a much needed cup of tea and rest, Esther finally asked what was going to happen to her.**

"**Am I OK to live normally?" She asked, looking fondly around the TARDIS. She no doubt wanted to travel with him.**

"**Yes." He told her, but threw a mobile phone at her. "But if there are any problems, you call the number on there, it's the only number." He told her, and they hugged quickly, before she turned to me.**

**She surprised me by dragging me away from him.**

"**I can tell there some energy between you too, closeness. And there is something he isn't telling you, I can taste it." She told me, before crushing me with a hug.**

**I wound my arms around her, wondering what she was talking about.**

"**What do you mean?" I asked.**

"**You haven't known each other for a long time, have you?" She asked.**

"**Hardly any time." I replied.**

"**He knows you more than you think. He's known you for a long time, Ellie Thorn." She told me, and with that, she left the TARDIS.**

**She got all that from tasting the energy between us?**

"**Odd."**

"**What about the ood?" The Doctor asked.**

"**I didn't say ood, I said odd." I corrected him, and he smirked.**

"**Ok, what's odd?" He then asked.**

"**Nothing." I replied. He narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head.**

"**Females and their secret chats.**

"**Are you taking me home now?" I asked him, he nodded; without looking at me.**

"**I will see you again." I informed him.**

"**I know, but Eleanor. I'll look different. It's going to be weird; I've met you before, in my past regeneration. So I'll look strange. Don't waste your time waiting though; I already had someone who waited for me. Just know that I will see you again. You brilliant girl." He said, placing a hand on my face and staring into my eyes.**

"**Why didn't you tell me that you'd seen me before?" I asked.**

"**I didn't want to scare you." He muttered, blushing a little. He pressed a final button and we lurched as the TARDIS moved. I crashed into him and he wound an arm around my shoulder, pressing me to him, so that I wouldn't crash my head on the console like I was going to.**

**When we landed, I threw my arms around him as a goodbye; it wasn't hard because I knew that I would see him again; hopefully very soon. It was worth it anyway, I had spent just one day with The Doctor and it was magical.**

"**Goodbye then Doctor." I said.**

"**Goodbye Ellie." **

"**You called me Ellie!" I exclaimed, grinning at him.**

"**Slip of the tongue." He assured me.**


	5. Reunion

(ELEANOR'S POV)

I quickly ducked through the Tardis' doors before I could change my mind; not that the Doctor would change his. I stood back as the machine made the familiar whirring noises and as my hair flew wildly around my face and a tear snaked down my cheek, I heard an angry car horn blare behind me. I closed my eyes and sighed, biting my lip to try and stop myself from screaming in frustration.

One moment in 1960's Britain, the next in my mothers dog house. Brilliant. I bore my punishment of my mothers droning voice yelling at me over and over again about punctuality and running off without any thought to the family or her heart. My mind meanwhile drifted off to the Tardis, and I wondered both how the Doctor knew more about me than I knew of him AND what the hell he meant when he told me that the next time I saw him, he would look different. Would he be older, younger. Would I be older? And if so, how older?

I tried not to think too much of it, but this felt unfair. He could run around as he wishes but I had to live each day knowing just what was out there. Damn him.

But days waiting turned to weeks waited, and I grew impatient. How long would it take for him to return? Each day went passed, and I went to school, went home, didn't go to counseling (much to my mothers delight), but everything was just dull and everything seemed just a little bit pointless. I was getting angrier and angrier and the months still flew, and I was always waiting. Every morning, every evening and every time I went outside. After almost a year of waiting, I had to confide in someone, and that someone happened to my be mother; because she was the only person (save the Doctor) that I trusted with my life. Well, as much as she annoyed me, I still loved her.

I walked into her bedroom after knocking, my eyes blackened with runny mascara and eyeliner streaming down my face- joining with my tears. I was in nothing but shorts and a vest and of course- like a child, I had had a dream. But it wasn't a nightmare, it was the most wonderful dream I ever had. I was with the Doctor. That was it. We were walking through a town laughing and talking and joking and grinning. And I was crying because I had come to believe that he was mythical. Something only my dreams could conjure up.

"Mum." I whimpered, collapsing on her bed and waking her up. She immediately sat up, and snaked an arm around my waist.

"Ells, what's wrong" She asked, wiping away my tears.

"It's about this guy." I started.

"Isn't it always." She tutted, relaxing a little.

"Mum, focus." I warned her, poking her arm. "There's this guy, called the Doctor. He's wonderful. He took me in his spaceship and we travelled to the sixties and he took away the ghosts of my nightmares. And he left me here eleven months ago promising that he would come back for me- and I believed him!" I exclaimed. My mum simply looked at me with a bewildered look stapled to her face and I slowly sank down after almost jumping off her bed and my mind, realizing just how crazy I was sounding.

"I don't want to burst your bubble, Ellie love. But there's no such thing as spacemen or spaceships- well apart from astronauts of course. There's no aliens, no time travel and you certainly have never been to the 60's!" She concluded, and a red mist descended over my eyes and my patience with her flew out of the window and got run over by a ten ton truck... and a double decker bus.

"I know my own mind." I retorted, rather snarkily. Her eyebrows almost flew to the roof at my tone and she didn't reply, she simply stroked my hair away from my red and teary face and switched the lamp off before sinking back into the comfort of her bed while I was left to wander- as always- back to my bedroom in the dark. Remind you of anything?

As soon as I was back in my bedroom, I growled in a wild rage and tore down my sketches of blue boxes and of the Doctor and of Esther. He had lied to me to get me to leave him alone- I know he did. However as soon as the pictures came of the walls, I sighed and tacked them back up; I wasn't mad at him deep down; I couldn't be.

The next day was the same as the others, I woke up, scrubbed up, ate up, drove up, worked up, drove down, ate up, scrubbed up, slept up. Yet I felt so down.

The day after was the same as the previous, except it was Saturday so I just stayed in bed. (I still felt down.)

The day after that was Sunday so I... did nothing. (I felt worse.)

And then Monday came. And it was different.

The morning was the same. I woke up, took a shower, dressed and ate. But as soon as I went outside, BAM! There was the Tardis. The colour immediately drained from my face and I stared with wonderment at the beautiful girl. I took a few shaky steps towards it, and then felt my rage bubble up. Eleven months, 15 days he had left me. So instead of the wonderful reunion I had always dreamt of, I turned away and ran down the road. I only had a few more weeks at school, and then HELLO FREEDOM. Well, until I started college. If I wasn't whisked away by a magical man by then.

I continued to run, my breathe tearing shakily out of my lungs and a few tears gathering in my tear ducts. I heard footsteps pounding on the floor, chasing me it seemed. I closed my eyes for a brief second and wished that he would leave me alone. I figured that I couldn't stop him though, so turned around and willed myself to be next to him. My creepy gift still worked and I was running next to a strange man in a brown suit with the most magnificent hair.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded, and I stopped running. That was not the Doctor, it seemed my power had stopped working. Well, it was working; just not on the right people.

"I'm the Doctor." He stated, and he also stopped running.

"No you're not." I retorted, shaking my head.

"Eleanor Thorn, I'm the Doctor." He said. "I promised that I would come back for you, and I have. My my, haven't you grown." He said grinning.

"The Doctor said that he'd look different. Oh my God, it is you. But how... what? That's weird. What?" I asked, poking his chest and marveling at his change.

"This is the past me, coming back for the future you. It's complicated, but this isn't the first time this regeneration has met you. Well, for me anyway." He rambled on. Finally, I remembered why I was mad at him.

"You left me, for eleven months and fifteen days you asshole moronic geeky skinny messy haired converse wearing lying mental alien!" I spat, and he smirked.

"I had to find the right time period. I've met the future you, I've travelled with the future you. But I didn't know where to find our first meeting like this." He informed me.

"You're a time traveller! You could have done all that and been back in five minutes you postponer!" I cry, hitting his chest repeatedly.

"Postponer?" He questioned, his eyebrows knitting together at my lame response. I just hit him harder and his smirk returned, lighting his face up. It was still weird to think of him as the Doctor, he looked so different and unlike my Doctor. To stop my temper tantrum he would his arms around my waist and pressed me to his chest in the most loving embrace I had ever been given; and I barely knew the guy. I continued to hit him gently in our hug but I was slowly forgiving him and he had hardly said anything. I wasn't the best at confrontation- especially with cute guys who liked smothering me with hugs.

"Have you finished?" He asked, sounding patient. I nodded and he let me go. The wind suddenly felt cold on my skin. He was no longer smirking, his face actually looked serious.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, as he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the Tardis.

"I just lost a friend, that's why I came looking for you. Wait- that sounded better in my head. That's not what I meant. I meant that I wanted someone who would comfort me; and I've met you before. In your future you'll know the friend too, our paths keep crossing only at the wrong time. Well, how about you stay here with me for a while?" He concluded, all in one breathe.

"Who did you lose?" I asked.

"Rose Tyler." He replied, swallowing loudly and tugging at his earlobe.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Well. It's alright, I have you now don't I. You're more brilliant that anyone." He told me.

"Well." I said, grinning at him. He smiled back, although it didn't reach his eyes.

"Where do you want to go first?" He asked.

"Somewhere on Earth. I don't think I'm quite ready for another planet yet. It's my second time in the Tardis."

"Ah well, Eleanor dear. You've got all the best bits to come." He said, grinning as he pulled levers and pressed buttons. "And it's going to be brilliant."


	6. Smith and Jones

(3RD PERSON)

Martha Jones was walking down the street to get to the hospital when her phone rang.

"You're up early!" She exclaimed, smiling. "What's happening?"

Tish was in her bedroom on the other end of the phone. "It's a nightmare, because Dad won't listen, and I'm telling you, Mum is going mental. Swear to God, Martha, this is epic. You've got to get in there and stop him." She replied.

"How do I do that?" Martha retorted.

"Tell Dad he can't bring her!" Tish exclaimed.

Martha's phone rang again. "Hold on, that's Leo. I'll call you back."

Martha answered Leo's call. "Martha, if Mum and Dad start to kick off, tell them I don't even want a party. I didn't even ask for one. They can always give me the money instead." He told her.

"Yeah, but why do I have to tell them? Why can't you?" She asked as her phone rang yet again. "Hold on, that's Mum. I'll call you back."

In his bedroom, Leo sighed, anxious.

Francine was in her kitchen. "I don't mind your father making a fool of himself in private, but this is Leo's 21st, everyone is going to be there, and the entire family is going to look ridiculous." She informed Martha.

"Mum, it's a party. I can't stop Dad from from bringing his girlfriend." Martha replied. Her phone rang again. "Hold on, that's Dad. I'll call you back."

Clive was getting into his car when his daughter answered the phone. "Martha? Now, tell your Mother, Leo is my son and I'm paying for half that party. I'm entitled to bring who I like." He concluded.

"I know, but think what it's going to look like for Mum, if you're standing there with Annalise." She retorted.

"What's wrong with Annalise?" Clive demanded. Annalise herself was getting into the car.

"Is that Martha? Say hi. Hi Martha, hi!" She exclaimed.

"Hi Annalise." Martha said with a fake joyfulness to her voice.

"Big kiss, lots of love. See you at the party babe." Annalise said. "Now take me shopping, big boy." She said, giggling to Clive. He laughs as she kisses him and Martha finally closes her phone.

The Doctor stepped in front of her as soon as she shut her phone. "Like so!" He exclaimed, taking off his tie. "See?" He asked.

Martha looked taken aback yet a little smile played on her lips and she continued to walk to the hospital. Thunder was threatening London, and she prayed that it wouldn't rain at least until she got to work.

"Hey! Watch it mate!" She cried as a man dressed all in leather and with a shiny helmet on his head slammed into her. The man looked at her and then entered the hospital, Martha walked in after him.

She walked to her locker and shrugged on her white jacket. She got an electric shock as she touched the door and she stared at her hand, bewildered.

Martha was stood by Ms Finnegans bed side with other medical students and her boss- Mr Stoker.

"I was all right till this morning, and then, I don't know. I woke up and I felt all dizzy again. It was worse than when I came in." Florence Finnegan complained.

"Pulse is slightly thready. Well, let's see what Britain's finest might suggest. Any ideas, Moregenstern?" Mr Stoker asked.

"Dizziness can be a sign of early onset diabetes." Moregenstern suggested.

"Hardly ever onset, if you'll forgive me, Miss Finnegan. Any more ideas? Swales?" Mr Stoker asked.

"Um... Could recommend a CT scan." Swales replied, a little bewildered.

"And spend all our money. Jones?" He asked.

"We could take bloods and check for Meniere's disease." Martha replied.

"Or we could simply ask the patient. What did you have for dinner last night?" Mr Stoker asked Florence.

"I had salad." Florence told him.

"And the night before?" He asked again.

"Salad. Again." Florence retorted.

"And salad every night for the past week, contrary to my instructions. Salt deficiency, that's what. Simple, honest, salt." Mr Stoker informed them all.

Mr Stoker took off across the hospital lobby. "Hippocrates himself expounded on the virtues of salt. Recommended the inhalation of steam from sea water. Though no doubt if he'd been afflicted with my students, results might have been rather more colourful." He continued.

Martha did a double take as she saw two identical men dressed in leather walking out of the lift, like the one who had slammed into her before. She shook any thoughts out of her head and caught up with the rest of the students. They surrounded a hospital bed and the Doctor himself was led on it, with a bored looking Eleanor perched on a seat next to him.

(ELEANOR'S POV)

A group of medical students and a doctor surrounded us, and I miserably drank from my bottle of water. This is hardly what I wanted from my second trip in the Tardis- a hospital. He didn't even tell me why we were here.

"Now then, Mr Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?" A Doctor (not the Doctor) asked.

"Aw, not so bad. Still a bit, you know. Blah." The Doctor retorted.

"John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me." The Doctor said. I didn't like him.

'Jones' moved towards the Doctor. She was pretty with dark hair and innocent eyes. "That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?" She asked. The Doctor and I both looked confused and willed for her to continue with her speech.

"Sorry?" The Doctor asked.

"On Chancery Street this morning. You came up to me and took your tie off." She told us. I sat back in my seat, confused.

"Really? What did I do that for?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know. You just did." She explained, pulling a stethoscope from around her neck.

"Not me. I was here, in bed. Ask the nurses." The Doctor informed her.

"Well, that's weird. Cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?" She asked.

"No, not anymore. Just me." The Doctor told her grimly.

"As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones." Mr Mean Doctor said, and I glared at him.

"Sorry, right." Jones said. She put her stethoscope to the Doctors chest and I smirked. He had told me about the two hearts situation. I took another drink from my water. Jones looked puzzled and moved the tool to the other side of his chest. The Doctor winked.

"I weep for further generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?" Mr Mean Doctor asked and I shot up out of my seat.

"Excuse me, mr perfect! But she's learning, as where you once. Now stop being so patronizing, show respect to your colleagues and shut the hell up!" I exclaimed, and sat back down. The Doctor was smirking at me and Mr Mean Doctor was glaring. Jones smiled at me.

"Um. I don't know. Stomach cramps?" Jones concluded.

"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patients chart." He told her and once again I glared at him but the Doctor gave me a warning glance which shut me up. The Mean Doctor picked up his chart and dropped it, for it had given him an electric shock.

"That happened to me this morning." Jones said.

"I had the same thing on the door handle." Morgenstern added.

"And me, on the lift." Swales inputted.

"That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by... Anyone?" Mean Doctor asked.

"Benjamin Franklin." The Doctor and I said at the same time, we grinned at each other.

"Correct." Mean Doctor exclaimed, looking surprised.

"My mate, Ben. That was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked." The Doctor rambled on and I stared at him in surprise.

"Quite." Mean Doctor said, looking creeped out.

"And then I got electrocuted." The Doctor finished.

"Moving on." Mean Doctor said and whispered to the students- unknowing that we could hear him. "I think perhaps a visit from a psychiatric." And then his volume returned to normal. "And next we have..."

(3RD PERSON)

"No listen, I've worked out a plan. We tell Annalise that the buffet tonight is one hundred percent carbohydrate and she won't turn up." Martha said to her sister, Tish, on the phone. Tish was walking down a street outside.

"I wish you'd take this seriously. That's our inheritance she's spending. On fake tan. Tell you what, I'm not that far away, I'll drop for a sandwich and we can draw up a plan." Tish said.

Martha gazed outside at the pouring rain outside the window. "In this weather? I'm not going out, it's pouring down." Martha retorted.

Tish looked confused. "It's not raining here." She replied. And then she turned the corner and saw Martha's hospital with a huge dark cloud hanging over it. "That's weird. It's sitting right on top of you, I can see it, but it's dry where I am." Tish continued, confused.

"Well, you just got lucky." Martha replied.

"No, but it's like in cartoons. You know, when a mans got a cloud over his head." Tish replied.

Martha dismissed her. "But listen, I tell you what we'll do." She said and looked up as the Doctor walked into the room, Eleanor on his arm, dressed in his dressing gown.

"Well tell Dad and Annalise to get there early, for about 7.30, for Leo to do his birthday stuff. We tell Mum to come at 8.30 or nine, and that gives me time to have a word with Annalise, and..."

Swales gently touched Martha's arm, staring out the window; looking scared.

"What?" Martha asked him, impatiently.

"The rain." Swales told her, still staring out the window.

"It's only rain." Martha sneered.

"Martha! Have you seen the rain?" Tish shouted down the phone.

"Why's everyone fussing about the rain?" Martha demanded.

"It's going up." Swales told her.

"The rain is going up." Tish replied, staring.

Martha finally looked and saw that the rain indeed, was going up. The building shook and both Martha and Swales fell over, protecting their heads from objects falling off the shelves. The shaking stops and a scared Martha stood up.

"What in hell was that?" Martha asked, looking around wildly.

"Are you alright?" Swales asked her/

"I think so, yeah. It felt like an earthquake, or..."

"Martha. It's night, it was lunchtime." Swales interrupted.

"It's not night." Martha told him.

"It's got to be, it's dark." Swales replied.

Martha looked out of the window again.

"We're on the moon." She said, her mouth hanging open.

"We can't be." Swales said anxiously.

"We're on the moon." Martha exclaimed. "We're on the bloody moon."

The hospital was, in fact, on the moon. People on all floors of the hospital were staring out of the windows, panicking and screaming as they realised where they were.


	7. Judoon Platoon Upon The Moon

(3RD PERSON)

Tish was running around the hospital, looking flustered and anxious at the now missing hospital which was holding her sister captive.

"I'm sorry, Miss. No." A policeman said, stopping her from looking any closer at the hole in the ground.

"My God." Tish muttered. "Martha? Can you hear me? Martha!" She cried into the phone.

Meanwhile, Martha was pushing past the cluster of people storming the corridors in the hospital. She passes Florence Finnegan who asked if she had seen something.

"I'm sorry, I can't." Martha helplessly replied.

She continued to walk down corridors and when coming into a ward, she said, "All right, everyone back to bed. We've got an emergency, but we'll sort it out."

The Doctor and Eleanor watched her and he pulled the curtain around the bed shut. Eleanor was slyly and rudely shoved out of the curtain and watched Martha looking out of the window.

"It's real. It's really real. Hold on!" Martha cried. She reached for the window latch, deciding to open the window.

"Don't! We'll lose all the air!" Swales cried, sobbing.

"But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?" She enquired.

The Doctor pulled back the curtain and grinned as Ellie glared at him. He was now dressed in his blue suit.

"Very good point! Brilliant, in fact." He exclaimed. "What was your name?" He asked Martha.

"Martha." She replied.

"And it was Jones, wasn't it?" Eleanor asked. Martha nodded.

"Well then, Martha Jones. The question is, how are we still breathing?" The Doctor asked.

"We can't be!" Swales exclaimed.

"Obviously we are so don't waste my time." The Doctor warned him, Ellie slapped his stomach lightly.

"Rude." She hissed to him, he simply smirked down at her.

"Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or?" He asked Martha.

"By the patients' lounge, yeah." She answered.

"Fancy going out?" The Doctor asked her. Eleanor smiled.

"Okay." Martha replied.

"We might die." Ellie warned her.

"We might not." Martha retorted.

"Good! C'mon. Not her, she'd hold us up." The Doctor said, pointing to Swales who was stood sobbing into her sleeve.

(ELEANOR'S POV)

The Doctor held his hand out to me which I gladly grabbed hold off. He squeezed it slightly so I squeezed back, and he led the way to the patients lounge. He pushed open the balcony doors and we stepped outside.

"We've got air!" Martha shouted. "How does that work?" She asked.

"Just be glad it does." The Doctor muttered.

"I've got a party tonight. It's my brothers twenty first. My Mother's going to be really... really..."

"You okay?" I asked her, smiling supportively.

"Yeah." Martha said to me, also smiling. It didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Sure?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah." She said again, this time more certain in her answer.

"Want to go back in?" I asked.

"No way." She said, smiling fondly. "I mean, we could die any minute. But all the same, it's beautiful."

"You think?" The Doctor asked.

"How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are!" She proclaimed. I grinned.

"Standing in the earthlight." The Doctor muttered.

"What do you think happened?" Martha asked either of us.

"What do you think?" He asked back.

"Extraterrestrial. It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would have sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben... Christmas... those cybermen things. I had a cousin, Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf- She never came home." Martha said, a distant look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor and I said together.

"Yeah." She murmured.

"I was there. In the battle." The Doctor told us. I squeezed his hand again- I'm assuming he had been there with Rose or whatever her name had been. I made a mental note to ask about his previous life when we were back on the Tardis. If we got to the Tardis.

"I promise you, Mr Smith, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way." Martha assured us. "Sorry, what was your name?" She asked me.

"Eleanor Thorn." I replied.

"Beautiful name." She whispered.

"And my name's not Smith, that's not my real name." The Doctor told her.

"Who are you then?" Martha questioned him.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Me too, if I can pass my exams. What is it, Doctor Smith?" She asked.

"Just the Doctor."

"How do you mean, just the Doctor?" She asked and I smirked slightly.

"Just... The Doctor."

"What, people call you, The Doctor?" She asked, confused. I nodded at her.

"Yeah." He said.

"Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title." She said.

"Oh he will." I assured her.

"Well, I'd better make a start then. Let's have a look." The Doctor bent down, picked up a pebble and threw it outside the hospital. "There must be some sort of force field keeping the air in."

"If that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?" Martha asked. I too was thinking the very same thing.

"How many people in this hospital?" He asked.

"I don't know, a thousand?" Martha replied.

"One thousand people. Suffocating." I said, rather harshly.

"Why would anyone do that?" Martha asked, disgusted

"Heads up! Ask them yourself." The Doctor exclaimed.

A myriad of spaceships land on the moon. The whole contents of the hospital move to the windows, watching in awe as some alien marched over to the hospital.

"Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens." Martha mumbled.

"Judoon." The Doctor stated.

The Doctor pulled us both behind some potted plants and we watched as the Judoon scanned screaming people and spoke in a strange language before finally speaking English. They drew marks on peoples hands after scanning them, and then simply left them alone.

""Category- human. Catalogue all suspects." One of them said.

"Oh look down there. You've got a little shop. I like a little shop." The Doctor said, smiling.

"Never mind that!" I cried.

"What are Judoon?" Martha demanded.

"Galactic police. Well, police for hire. More like interplanetary thugs." The Doctor answered.

"And they brought us to the moon?" Martha asked.

"Neutral territory. According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, and they isolated us. That rain? Lightning? That was them, using an H20 scoop."

"What's that about, galactic law? Where'd you get that from? If they're police, are we under arrest. Are we trespassing on the moon or something?" Martha asked.

"They're looking for someone, they're cataloging us." I stated.

"Quite right. No we're not trespassing. Although, good thinking. It's more simple, like Eleanor said. They're making a catalogue, it means they're after something non-human, which is very bad news for me." The Doctor said. Martha stared at him in awe. I grinned even larger that I already was, and the Doctor even looked turned to look at me and smirked.

"Why?" She asked. "Oh you're kidding me." She rambled, and her eyebrows raised. I winked at her cheekily. "Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that!" She exclaimed, as both the Doctor and I stared at her.

"Come on, then." The Doctor said to us, and pulled me by my hand.

Behind us I heard the chief Judoon saying, "Troop five, floor one. Troop six, floor two. Identify humans and find the transgressor. Find it."

We set off running, the Doctor still holding my hand and I pretended not to notice when Martha's eyes kept traveling down to our entwined hands, with his thumb rubbing circles over my hand. I smirked.

"Prepare to be catalogued." A Judoon said, stepping in front of us.

"Do what they say. All they want is to shine this light thing, it's alright. They don't mean to hurt us. Just listen to them." A medical student was trying to calm people down. A man ran up to a Judoon and smashed a jug over its head.

"Witness the crime. Charge- physical assault. Plea- guilty. Sentence- execution." The Judoon said. .I winced as the man was vaporized and the Doctor hissed, trying to protect me.

"You didn't have to do that." The student insisted, sounding distraught.

"Justice is swift." The Judoon replied and the student flinched.

I soon realized that the Doctor had dropped my hand and was scanning a computer with his sonic screwdriver. Martha walked into the room with me.

"They've reached third floor. What's that thing?" She asked him.

"Sonic Screwdriver." He replied, not looking up.

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly!" She exclaimed. I grinned.

"No, really, it is. It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic. Look." He insisted, showing her.

"What else have you got a laser spanner?" She asked. I guffawed and the Doctor looked up at me, wounded.

"Sorry." I mouthed. He smirked.

"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman." He muttered before launching an attack on the computer. "Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon. Cause I was just traveling past, I swear. I was just wandering, I wasn't looking for trouble, honestly, I wasn't, but I noticed these plasma coils. Been building up for two days now, so I checked in, I thought something was going on inside, it turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above." He informed us.

"That's why we came here!" I exclaimed, thankful.

"But what are they looking for?" Martha asked.

"Something that looks human, but isn't." I told her.

"Like you. Apparently." Martha sneered.

"Like me." The Doctor agreed. "But not me." He disagreed.

"Haven't they got a photo?" Martha asked. I grinned at the Doctor.

"Might be a shape changer."

"Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?" She asked.

"If they declare the hospital guilty of harboring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution." The Doctor said, and I sighed.

"All of us?" She asked.

"Oh yes. If I can find this thing first... OH!" He shouted. "Just that they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that's clever." He moaned.

"What are we looking for?" I asked calmly, placing a hand on the small of his back and ignoring the glare that received from Martha.

"I don't know." He said, equally gently. "Any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's a back up."

"Just keep working. I'll go ask Mr Stoker, he might know." Martha said, and walked off.

"Are you ok?" I asked the Doctor.

"Yep." He said, popping the P. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh I don't know, you said you just lost your friend, Rose, was it? How are you?" I asked, causing him to stop working at look at me.

"Rose Tyler. She was by best friend, well my second best friend. Counting you." He said, pulling his earlobe. "Can't believe I just ordered my friends in a list, how very school girl of me." He muttered.

"I think we need a talk when all of this is sorted. C'mere." I said, holding my arms out. He walked over, sniffed and hugged me; picking me up and spinning me around. I giggled and he chuckled a little, before setting me down.

"I also don't get how you know me but I don't know you that well."

"I've met you in my past, you've met me in your future, like I said- you've got it all to come. You'll love it." He said, getting back to work. I sighed and watched him work.

(3RD PERSON)

Martha ran down a corridor, avidly looking for Mr Stoker. She ran to his office and burst through the door.

"Mr Stoker!" She yelled. And then she spotted his feet sticking out under the desk, and then two of the men dressed in leather and helmets. Florence Finnegan stood up, looking angry with a bloody straw in her hand. Martha gasped and ran back out the door, sprinting to find the Doctor.

"Kill her!" Finnegan ordered the slabs.

(ELEANOR'S POV)

I was smiling fondly watching the Doctor, as he was so utterly in his zone working that it was adorable. It reminded me of the future Doctor, although I suppose they're really the same person. Whoa! When did I become such a love sick teenager? I didn't have a crush on the Doctor.

Martha met up with us. "I've restored the back up." The Doctor told us.

"I found her." Martha said, out of breathe.

"You what?" The Doctor asked and then upon seeing the slabs walking over to us, he shouted, "Run!"

"Just like future times, huh?" I asked and the Doctor grinned, grabbing both mine and Martha's hands.

We ran to a stairwell, followed by the two slabs. We then saw Judoon coming up and we launched through a doorway. We continued to run down the corridor, the slabs still chasing after us. The Doctor led us into a radiology room and he slammed the door shut and locked it.

"When I say now, press the button." The Doctor told us.

"I don't know which one." Martha shouted.

"Find out!" The Doctor proclaimed. He used the screwdriver on some machinery and Martha went to find a manual whilst I stared at the door, trying to figure out what to do.

"Now!" The Doctor screamed, and I slammed my hand on a random button. The slabs burst through the door and they got zapped with radiation and they fell to the ground.

"What do you do?" Martha exclaimed, visibly relieved.

"Increased the radiation by five thousand per cent. Killed him dead." The Doctor said.

"Isn't that likely to kill you?" I asked, in awe.

"Nah, it's only radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you to come out, I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it." He said, and started to hop and jump. I glared at him, totally incapable of now taking him seriously. "If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It's in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go, easy does it..." And he started to shake his left foot. I guffawed but he ignored it. "Out, out, out, out, out, out, out. Ah, ah, ah, ah. It is, it is, it is, it is, it is hot. Ah- hold on." He took his shoe off and threw it in the bin. "Done." He said, grinning. I smirked at him and giggled.

"Boom!" I exclaimed.

"Boom!" He answered.

"You're completely mad. Both of you." Martha said, exasperated.

"Right. I look daft with one shoe." He then removed his right shoe and it followed the left one into the bin. "Barefoot on the moon!" He grinned.

Martha ignored him and walked over to the slab. "So what is that thing? And where's it from? The planet Zovirax?" She asked.

"It's just a slab, they're called 'slabs'. Basic slave drones, see? Solid leather, all the way through." He said.

"Someone has got one hell of a fetish." I said and winked at the Doctor who grinned again.

"It came with that woman, Mrs Finnegan. It was working for her, just like a servant."

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, or what was left of it out of the x-ray machine. "My sonic screwdriver." He muttered, sadly. I walked over to him and patted him on the back and rested my head on his shoulder; in mourning.

"It's alright." I crooned.

"She was one of my patients, but-" Martha continued.

"My sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor whimpered again.

"Shh." I whispered.

"She had a straw like some kind of vampire." Martha exclaimed.

"I loved my sonic screwdriver!"

"Doctor!" Martha shouted.

"Sorry." He said and launched the screwdriver away from him, he grinned. "You called me Doctor." He said, his voice pitch ascending.

Martha smirked. "Anyway! Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr Stoker's blood."

"Funny time to take a snack." I muttered.

"You'd think she'd be hiding. Unless- no. Yes! That's it, wait a minute. Yes!" He exclaimed. "Shape-changer. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it."


	8. Goodbye Kisses

(3RD PERSON)

The Judoon scanned Florence Finnegan, who was smiling demurely at them.

(ELEANOR)

"If she can assimilate Mr Stoker's blood, mimic the morphology, she can register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!" The Doctor yelled.

He set off running and both myself and Martha sighed and took off after him.

(3RD PERSON)

"Human." The Judoon concluded, and drew a cross on her hand. Finnegan smiled at the cross, her plan had worked.

(ELEANOR)

We ducked behind a water cooler as a slab walked past us.

"That's the thing about slabs. They always travel in pairs." The Doctor mumbled.

"What about you?" Martha asked, hinting upon something.

"What about me?" The Doctor asked, refusing eye contact.

"Well, apart from Eleanor, do you have back up?" She asked. The Doctor smiled fondly at me, so I averted my eyes and pretended not to notice.

"Eleanor pops in sometimes. We have quite the perfect friendship." He said. "It's a bit messed up though, our time lines cross at different times. But apart from that, uh! Humans. We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, you're asking personal questions. Come on." He said. Martha looked at me, and I shrugged.

"This is only the second time I've met him, but he's met me quite a few times before." I whispered to her which only made her look more confused.

"I like that. Humans. I'm still not convinced you're an alien." Martha grumbled to him.

We stepped out from behind the water cooler, right into a Judoon who scanned the Doctor. I inhaled heavily.

"Non-human." The Judoon said.

"Oh my God, you really are!" Martha shouted.

"And again!" The Doctor yelled.

We set off running again, the Doctors hand snaking into mine. The Judoon started to shoot behind us. We rushed upstairs and went into a door which the Doctor then locked. People all around us were falling to the ground, gasping for breathe.

"They've done this floor. Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already." The Doctor said and I snorted.

Martha spotted a colleague and stopped next to her.

"How much oxygen is there?" Martha asked.

"Not enough for all these people. We're going to run out." The woman said, and I grimaced.

"How are you feeling? Are you all right?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm running on adrenaline." Martha said.

"Welcome to our world." The Doctor said, and I felt smug as Martha looked at me when he said 'our'.

"What about the Judoon?" She asked, glaring at me a little. I ignored her- forever being the bigger person.

"Ah, great big lung reserves, it won't slow them down. Where's Mr Stoker's office?" He asked.

"It's this way."

We walked into Mr Mean Doctors/Mr Stoker's office, and Martha gasped.

"She's gone! She was here!" She exclaimed. The Doctor and I walked over to Mr Stoker. I checked for his vital signs (none) while the Doctor examined him more thoroughly.

"Drained him dry." I said.

"Every last drop." He confirmed. "I was right. She's a plasmavore." He said.

"Another vampire?" I shouted, seemed vampires loved me. The Doctor looked at me, confused.

"Your future, honey." I told him and winked, he smirked.

"What was she doing on Earth?" Martha asked, a note of exasperation in her voice. I scowled at the ground. Her jealousy was annoying me.

"Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on." He said, a dark tone in his voice when he mentioned execution.

"Wait a minute." Martha said and walked over to Mr Stoker and closed his eyes. We watched sadly and then she joined us in the corridor.

"Think, think, think. If I was a plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?" He asked. He looked at a sign that said 'MRI'. "Aah. She's as clever as me." He said.

"Almost." I muttered and he grinned and sniggered.

"Find the non-human. Execute." A Judoon said.

"Stay here, I need time. You're going to have to hold them up." The Doctor said.

"How do we do that?" Martha asked.

"Eleanor, you're with me." The Doctor said. "Martha, forgive me for this. It's to save a thousand lives, it means nothing. Honestly, nothing." He assured her and to my horror and Martha's delight, he kissed her. He then grabbed my hand and pulled me into the room, leaving Martha speechless. Before I could actually go into the room, she grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back into the corridor.

"That was nothing?" She asked.

"Most definitely." I said and grinned at her, ducking back into the room.

The Doctor was at the MRI machine, where Florence Finnegan was working the controls.

"Have you seen- there are these big things, those great big space rhino things, I mean rhinos from space. And we're on the moon. Great big space rhinos with guns on the moon. And I only came in for my bunions, look." The Doctor said, playing dumb and brandishing his feet.

"Ew." I whispered.

"They're alright now, perfectly good treatment. I said to my wife, Eleanor here." He said pointing at me, so I grabbed his arm and smiled cheesily. "I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon. And did I mention the rhinos?" He asked. Florence simply looked at us and my heart started beating twenty times the normal rate when she shouted, "Hold him!" to the slabs. One grabbed me and dragged me off him, kicking and screaming and the other grabbed hold of the Doctor.

(3RD PERSON)

Martha was stood waiting for the Judoon and despite her racing heart, she managed to NOT run off screaming.

"Find the non-human. Execute." One said, and Martha winced.

"Now, listen. I know who you're looking for. She's this woman. She calls herself Florence." Martha tried to save herself.

The Judoon didn't listen and examined her.

"Human. With non-human traits suspected. Non-human element confirmed. Authorize full scan. What are you? What are you?" The Judoon said.

(ELEANOR)

Florence continued messing about with the MRI machine as the Doctor continued to ramble on. I glared at him as the slab tightened its grip on me, hurting my arms.

"That thing, that big machine thing.." I rolled my eyes. "Is is supposed to be making that noise?" He asked.

"You wouldn't understand." Florence replied nastily, not even looking up.

"Oh I think he would." I grumbled.

"Isn't that a magnetic resonance imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of a magnet? I did magnets at GCSE. Well, I failed, but all the same." He said.

"The magnetic setting is now set to 50,000 Tesla." Florence said. The Doctor winced and I tried to get away again.

"Ooh. That's a bit strong, isn't it?" He asked.

"I can send out a magnetic pulse that will fry the brain stems of every living thing within 250,000 miles. Except me, safe in this room." She said, grinning.

"But... hold on, hold on. I did geography for GCSE, I did pass that one, doesn't that distance include Earth?" He asked, wincing again.

"Only the side facing the moon. The other half will survive. Call it my little gift." Florence said, baring her grinning teeth. I sighed.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me. I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman, hence the bunions. Why would you do that?" He asked and I burst out laughing imagining him with a stable job and a mortgage. He glared at me so I shut up.

"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine, to make my escape." She replied, ignoring my laughter.

"Now that's weird. You're talking like you're some sort of an alien." I said in mock horror.

"Right-o." She said.

"No!" I exclaimed, the Doctor grinned at me.

"Oh yes." Florence said, enjoying the lime light.

"You're joshing me." I muttered. The Doctor mimed 'joshing me?' and rose his eyebrows. I shrugged.

"I am not." Florence assured me.

"I'm talking to an alien. In hospital? What, has the place got an ET department?" I asked and this led to the Doctor rolling his eyes.

"It's the perfect hiding place. Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment I'm ready to arm myself with should the police come looking." She informed us.

"So, those rhinos, they're looking for you?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes. But I'm hidden." Florence said, smirking and winking at us.

"Oh, right! Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans."

"They're doing what?" She asked, visibly surprised.

"Big chief rhino boy, he said, no sign of non-uman, we must increase our scans... up to setting two?" The Doctor told her, feigning misunderstanding.

"Then I must assimilate again." She muttered. My eyes widened.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"I must appear to be human." She grumbled.

"Well, you're welcome to come home with the wife and I, meet the kids. We'd be honored. We have cake." The Doctor said. I shook my head.

"Why should I have cake? I've got my little straw." She said, smiling.

"That's nice." I said, grinning.

"Milkshake? I like banana." The Doctor said.

"You're quite the funny man. And yet, I think it's time you found some peace. Steady him. You might want to close your eyes, ginge. Your husband is about to be killed." She warned me. I honestly flipped out.

I kicked and punched and scratched harder and harder, but the slab was pure leather and hard to maim.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked, genuine worry etching his face. I screamed at the thing to let me go. "It's alright, Eleanor love." He assured me. A tear was snaking down my face.

Florence walked up to him with her straw and I wanted to drop kick her more than anything.

"I'm afraid this is going to hurt. But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember." She said. A guttural snarl errupted from my mouth and I finally got out of the slabs arms and pelted over to the Doctor.

(3RD PERSON)

The Judoon marked a cross on Martha's hand.

"Confirmed, human. Traces of facial contact with non-human. Continue the search." The Judoon ordered. He handed Martha a piece of paper. "You will need this." He informed her. Martha shook her head.

"What's that for?" She demanded.

"Compensation." He told her.

(ELEANOR'S POV)

I was too late, Florence was drinking his blood, and as much as I tried to prise her off him, she was too strong for me. The Doctor was still awake, staring at me in a ghostly manner which made my toes curl and I thought of how only a minute ago we were quietly joking about the monster. Tears gushed down my face as his body grew limper and my scratches on the beast grew lamer, and I gave up; simply slumping on the floor ready for his death. The Judoon entered the room finally, and I had never been happier to see them.

"Now see what you've done, this poor man just died of fright!" Florence shouted. I screamed in rage at her but she simply ignored me. I crawled to the Doctor's side and grabbed his cooling hand.

"Scan him! Confirmation- deceased." One of the Judoon said.

"No, he can't be. Let me through, let me see him." Martha cried, pushing through.

"Stop. Case closed." The Judoon said.

"But it was her! She killed him! She did it, she murdered him!" I screamed and Martha winced as she checked his vital signs.

"The Judoon have no authority over human crime." The Judoon replied.

"But she's not human." Martha said.

"Oh, but I am. I've been catalogued." Florence said, smugly holding her hand up.

"But she's not! She's assimil- Wait a minute. You drank his blood, the Doctor's blood." Martha gasped.

"Yes Martha Jones!" I cried.

Martha grabbed the Judoon's scanner and scanned Florence.

"Oh, all right. Scan all you like." Florence said, still smug.

"Non-human." The Judoon said and I sighed, smiling.

"What?" Florence gasped, fury clouding her eyes.

"Confirm analysis." The Judoon replied.

"Oh, but it's a mistake surely. I'm human, I'm as human as they come." Florence insisted.

"He gave his life so they'd find you." I growled at her, Martha placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Confirmed. Plasmavore. I charge you with the crime of murdering the princess of Patrival Regency Nine." The Judoon told her.

"She deserved it! Those pink cheeks and those blond curls and that simpering voice. She was begging for the bite of a plasmavore." Florence hissed.

"Do you confess?" The Judoon asked.

"Confess? I'm proud of it." She spat. "Slab, stop them!" She called.

The slab shot at the Judoon and the Judoon shot back, the slab was disintegrated.

"Verdict- guilty. Sentence- execution." The Judoon informed her. Behind them a warning sign lit up, reading 'MAGNETIC OVERLOAD'.

"Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me. Burn in hell!" Florence shouted, and screamed as they too shot at her. Martha bent down next to the Doctor.

"Case closed." The Judoon said.

"What did she mean, burn with me?" Martha asked. "The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something." Martha stated.

"Scans detect lethal acceleration of monomagnetic pulse." The Judoon told her.

"Well, do something! Stop it!" Martha cried.

"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate." The Judoon said.

"You can't!" I shouted.

"You can't just leave it. What's it going to do?" Martha demanded.

"All units withdraw." The Judoon insisted.

They left and they also left the sign flashing.

"What about the air? We're running out of air?" A colleague told them.

"You can't go. That thing's going to explode and it's all your fault." Martha insisted.

Martha ran back to the Doctor and tried to bring him back to life, but nothing was happening. She slumped back, defeated.

"Well, there's nothing we can do then." She cried, defeated. I sobbed and lent down to the Doctor and kissed him. He sat up straight and began to cough, but he soon closed his eyes again and led back down. I looked at Martha, bewildered.

"That worked?" I asked, equally confused. Martha shrugged and tried to resuscitate him again. She pumped on his chest with each time she said a number.

"One two three four five. One two three four five."

"Two hearts!" I reminded her.

"One two three four five. One two three four five." She continued. We were quickly running out of air and the machine was still going to murder everyone. Martha was becoming weary and finally the Doctor woke up, coughing and staring wildly at me.

"Did you kiss me?" He accused. I shrugged, exhasperated and he tilted his head. "Never mind that!" He shouted.

"The scanner, she did something." Martha told him. The Doctor crawled to the MRI machine and unplugged it.

Martha soon became to weak to walk, and I was soon to be joining her if we didn't get air fast. The Doctor let me lean on him as we walked down the corridor and carried Martha at the same time. Everyone around us was either gasping for air or passed out.

The Doctor walked us to a window and stared out at the Judoon ships.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on. Judoon, reverse it." The Doctor wished. Rain began to fall and he grinned. "It's raining El, Martha. It's raining on the moon."

"How lovely." I said with mock enthusiasm and an angry look on my face. "I thought you were dead." I hissed to him.

"So you kissed me?" He asked, his voice high and his eyebrows in his hair.

"I don't know, it was my natural reaction!" I demanded.

"To kiss me." He stated.

"Shut up!" I hissed, nudging him, but I couldn't stop my smile of relief forming on my face and he soon joined in with the smiling.

The hospital lit up with white and disappeared.

(3RD PERSON)

The hospital reappeared with people staring, open mouthed and taking photos. Tish was amongst them. Martha was sat, outside the hospital, lost in her thoughts.

"I told them I represented the human race. I told them you can't do that. I said, 'you can't do that, we have rights." Morgenstern was announcing.

Tish spotted Martha and sprinted over to her, relief written on her face. She hugged her.

"Martha! Oh God! I thought you were dead! What happened? It was so weird, because the police wouldn't say, they didn't have a clue. And I tried phoning, but I couldn't get through. Mum's on her way, but she couldn't get through, they've closed off all the roads."

Martha saw the Doctor and Eleanor, with Eleanor chatting animatedly to the Doctor, walking towards the Tardis. They both turned around, smiled and then waved. A truck went past them and buy the time it had driven past, the Doctor, Eleanor and the Tardis were gone.

"There's thousands of people trying to get in, the whole city's ground to a halt, and Dad phoned, cause it's on the news and everything, he was crying. It's been a mess, and what happened? I mean, what really happened? Where were you?" Tish asked. Martha was simply staring at the Tardis and listening to the last remnants of the noise of the vortex.

Martha was in her bedroom, listening to the radio and doing her makeup.

"Eyewitness reports from the Royal Hope Hospital continue to pour in and it all seems to be remarkably consistent. This is from medical student Oliver Morgenstern." The radio presenter said.

"I was there. I saw it happen. And I feel uniquely privileged. I looked out at the surface of the moon. I saw the Earth, suspended in space, and it all just proves Mr Saxon right. We're not alone in the universe. There's life out there. Wild and extraordinary life." Morgenstern said.

Outside the pub, Annalise stormed out, clearly angry and shouting.

"I am not prepared to be insulted!" She screamed. Clive followed her, trying to calm her down.

"She didn't mean it, sweet heart. She just said you look healthy." He reasoned.

"No, I did not. I said orange." Francine retorted, enjoying it.

"Clive, this woman is disrespecting me!" Annalise whined. "She's never liked me."

"Oh, I can't think why. After you stole my husband!" Francine shouted.

"I was seduced!" Annalise insisted. "I'm entirely innocent, tell her Clive!"

"And then she has a go at Martha, practically accused her of making the whole thing up!" Francine shouted.

"Mum, I don't mind. Just leave it." Martha cautioned.

"Oh, 'I've been to the moon'! As if. They were drugged, it said so on the news." Annalise spat.

"Since when did you watch the news? You can't handle Quiz Mania." Francine retorted.

"Annalise started it. She did, I heard her." Tish said to Martha.

"Trish! Don't make it worse." Leo said.

"You're talking, Leo. What did she buy you, soap? A seventy five pence soap?" Tish said to him.

"Oh! I'm never talking to your family again!" Annalise screamed. She waltzed off and everyone started talking at once.

"Oh, stay. Have a night out." Francine said.

"Don't you dare, I'm putting my foot down. This is me, putting my foot down." Clive said before sprinting after his girlfriend.

"Dad!" Leo shouted.

"Make a fool of yourself! God knows you've been doing it for the last twenty five years, why stop now?" Francine called. Francine too stormed off, Tish on her heels.

"Mum, don't!" She moaned. "I asked the DJ and he's playing that song later."

Martha looked around, now on her own and very distressed. She saw the Doctor and Eleanor leaning against the Tardis, smiling at her.

(ELEANOR)

Martha walked over towards us.

"I went to the moon today." The said, smiling.

"A bit more peaceful than down here." The Doctor said.

"You never told me who you are." She said.

"The Doctor." He said, pointing to himself. "Eleanor." Pointing to me.

"What sort of species? It's not every day I get to ask that."

"I'm a Time Lord." He said. "Human." He said after hesitating, pointing to me. Weird.

"Right! Not pompous at all then." Martha said, smirking. I giggled and the Doctor nudged me.

"I just thought since you saved my life and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road testing, you might fancy a trip."

"What, into space?" She asked.

"Well." The Doctor said, in that way of his.

"I can't. I've got exams, I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent, I've got my family going mad." She explained.

"If it helps, he can travel in time as well." I said.

"Get out of here." Martha gasped.

"I can." The Doctor replied.

"Come on now, that's going too far." She insisted.

"I'll prove it." The Doctor told her, and pulling my hand he led just him and myself into the Tardis. When we reappeared, he was holding his tie.

"Told you." The Doctor said to Martha.

"I know, but that was this morning! But, did you... oh my God! You can travel in time!" She exclaimed.

The Doctor put his tie back on.

"But hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go into work?" She questioned.

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden. Except for cheap tricks." He said.

"And that's your spaceship?" She asked.

"It's called the Tardis. Time and Relative Dimension in Space." He replied.

"Your spaceship's made of wood. There's not much room. We'd be a bit intimate." She said.

"Hey! Don't insult her!" I whined.

"Take a look." The Doctor said, pushing the door open. She rushed in. And rushed out again.

"Oh, no, no." She mumbled. "But it's just a box, but it's huge. How does it do that? It's wood." She said, running around the box and tapping on it. "It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside." She said, and I giggled as the Doctor mouthed the last sentence along with her.

"Is it? I hadn't noticed." He said, feigning ignorance. He pulled me into the Tardis, shut the door and threw his coat down.

"All right then, let's get going." He said.

"But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?" Martha asked.

"Just us." The Doctor muttered.

"All on your own?" She asked.

"I have Eleanor." He said.

"Right."

"But I'm going now, aren't I Doctor?" I asked, because I knew I was. The Doctor and I, we were one adventure at a time people.

"Yep." He said. "You won't be replacing her. There's only one of her." The Doctor said, pointing to me. I smiled sadly at Martha.

"Never said I was." Martha retorted.

"Just one trip to say thanks, you get one trip, then back home. I'd rather be on my own, well, with the exception of her." He said, pointing to me again.

"You're the one that kissed me." Martha pointed out.

"That was a genetic transfer." He replied.

"And if you will wear a tight suit..."

"Now.." The Doctor warned.

"Don't!" I roared.

"And then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date." She continued.

"Stop it." I said.

"For the record? I'm not remotely interested. I only go for humans." She concluded. I sighed.

"Good. Well, then. Eleanor, come here." He said, dragging me away from Martha. He hugged me tightly and bent down in my ear to whisper- "I'll come back for you in your tomorrow, but my future. Time travel and it's perks. I do believe you wanted to talk to me." And then he kissed the tender skin behind my ear and ruffled my hair. "Keep being brilliant." He said.

And then I kissed his cheek, briefly hugged Martha and said goodbye to the Tardis. For the time being anyway.


	9. Small Explanations

I morosely watched as the Tardis disappeared into the vortex. I sighed, flattened my hair back down and set off for home. I twisted my way through the night, dodging stumbling drunks and party goers and feeling sorry for myself. It took me about ten minutes to actually walk home, and in that time I'd had to light three cigarettes for people and avoid piles of vomit. I reached the family home and unlocked the door. No doubt my Mum would go crazy at the time. I tried to be as quiet as I could, locking the door silently and tip toeing through the corridor. Thankfully, nobody came to shout at me so I retired to my bedroom. I collapsed on my bed and shut my eyes, trying to get my thoughts together. After ten minutes of day dreaming, I tied my copper hair into a bun, dressed in some cotton shorts and a tank top and switched on my iPod dock. I danced on my bed to music, as if I was a five year old girl dancing with my friends at a sleep over. I smiled and let all my worries just slip out of my head. Pretty soon I got tired, it was late at night after all, so I sank down into my bed and dreamt of the Doctor.

In the morning, I awoke naturally; something that never happened in my house. Either my Mother or Father would wake me, or my alarm would go off. I drew open my curtains, it seemed mid day. I flinched against the brightness of the sun. I slid a hoodie over my tank top and went to find my parents. I checked the kitchen, the living room and the dining room. They weren't there. I ran back upstairs, and checked their bedroom, the bathroom and the spare room. I ran back into my room, hoping this was a joke. My parents would never go out without telling me, it was an unspoken rule of the house. I grabbed my phone and rang my Mother, no answer. I did the same for my Father, and again, their was no answer. I thought back to the previous night and how my Mother didn't greet me with harsh words and harsher sentiments. I breathed slowly and deeply and tried to gather my thoughts.

And then I heard it.

*3RD PERSON*

The Doctor paced around the Tardis console, slowly pressing buttons and flicking switches and pulling levers. He was having an internal battle; when should he talk to Eleanor? He decided that the sooner the better, and so pressed the final button that whirred the Tardis to full life; and of course, she landed with a bang. The Doctor brushed himself down, slyly checked himself out in the mirror and slipped into his long coat and left.

*ELEANOR*

I heard the back door in the kitchen swing open and I sobbed quietly. I grabbed a bat from my Father's bed side and slowly and quietly went downstairs. I tip toed to the kitchen and saw a shadow of somebody walking into my house. I held my breath, squeezed my eyes shut and bonked whoever it was over the head.

"Eleanor, what the hell are you doing?" My Mother cried, and rushed to her husbands aid. I opened my eyes and saw my Dad, passed out on the floor. I screamed, realising that they had only gone grocery shopping.

"I'm so sorry! I thought he was an intruder! You didn't even tell me you were going out!" I cried.

"Stupid girl." My Mother muttered and I glared at the back of her head, seriously contemplating doing the same to her.

"I'm going to have to take him to the hospital. How the hell am I going to explain this?" Mum muttered, and picked Dad up. I helped her and together we sat him down in her car and buckled him in.

"See you later!" I called, and waved. As soon as she started driving I turned the wave into my middle finger.

I sighed and walked back into the house, shaking my head at my stupidity. The Doctor was getting to me.

I suddenly remembered that the Doctor was coming back to talk to me today! I launched myself into my bedroom and had a shower. I dressed in a baggy navy t-shirt, tights and vans and threw a denim shirt over the top of the t-shirt. I let my hair tumble to my waist and added a shine enhancer to make it even more a shiny orange colour. I applied a little makeup and waited for him to come. I just prayed that he would stay true to his promise.

I waited for an hour and was starting to give up hope, but then I heard it. The mechanical whirring, the beautiful sound of the Tardis. I launched myself outside to find where he had landed. He turned the corner of my street and as soon as he saw me, he quickened his pace. I, too rushed to his side and we hugged each other tightly.

"I take it I got the right day, then?" The Doctor asked, as we walked arm in arm to the Tardis.

"No, you're two months late." I whispered, pretending to look saddened. He gasped and turned to me.

"I'm so sorry, I honestly thought I'd gotten the right date, I didn't know..." He trailed off and glared at me. "You're joking, aren't you?" He asked. I could no longer stifle my laugh.

"Your face!" I laughed. He grinned and shook his head, and we continued to walk. "How long has it been for you?" I asked.

"About ten months." He replied.

"You could go ten months without seeing me?" I demanded, seriously angry now.

"Well, I've seen you about thirty times in that ten months, so no, I couldn't." He replied smugly. I refused to apologize so simply shook my head.

"Where's Martha?" I asked, looking around for her.

"She had to go back to her family. You were there when she decided. I think you made her decide actually." He told me, rubbing his jaw.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Oh, I can't tell you that. It would rip a hole through time and space." He informed me.

"Boring." I sighed and he chuckled.

"So, when are we going to talk?" He asked.

"We're talking right now."

"No, I mean when are you going to ask me stuff?" The Doctor asked.

"Am I not asking you something right now?" I asked, stifling a smile. The Doctor sighed, exasperated.

"Fine, I'll just leave you here then." He said, dropping my arm and walking off. I didn't want him to know but I'd seen the twinkle in his eye, he was just messing around. But when he kept walking and didn't make sure I was following, and when he walked into the Tardis and shut the door, and when the Tardis disappeared, I got a little anxious. He knew I was just messing around, right?

I turned around in the street, thinking of how unlike him this was. I shrugged, content with the fact that he didn't leave me forever; due to him having travelled with my future in his past (that still confuses me) and set off to walk home. I was about three minutes into the walk when I heard footsteps urgently running behind me. I knew who it was. I smirked and continued to walk. And then he was picking me up and carrying me to the Tardis, and as I giggled in delight, he also laughed.

"You didn't think I'd believe that, did you?" I bluffed.

"You did believe it." He muttered, setting me down on the jump seat in the console. I rolled my eyes.

"That was petty." I mumbled.

"Right, now you can ask me questions." He said, leaning against the console and crossing his arms.

"Who's Rose?" I asked, and his eyes glazed over and he turned away from me. "And don't skip any details." I warned him.

"She was my first companion in a long time. She changed me a lot, I was bitter before I met her. And then we travelled for a bit, she looked into the heart of the Tardis, I saved her and changed into who I am now. Then we travelled more, but she got trapped in another dimension, and there's no way I can get her out. She's left me, forever." He muttered. I walked up to him and placed my hand on his.

"Did you love her?" I asked.

"In a way, as a friend. Well, she was more than a friend. She was my best friend." He mumbled.

"So you change your appearance?" I asked, wanting to move on.

"Yes, it's called regeneration. It's when a time lords body dies, so in order to save myself, I change. Attitude, looks, personality, everything. But I'm still the same, deep down." He said, smiling. I smiled back.

"Like magic." I said. He shook his head.

"Like science." He amended.

"Have you had any other companions, since Rose?" I asked hesitantly.

"Martha's the only once since. Well, apart from you." He said, smiling.

"Have you had any others?" I asked.

"A few. When I was with Rose, her boyfriend, Mickey, sometimes tagged along. There was Captain Jack Harkness. Sarah Jane Smith helped me quite recently. Various people." He told me.

"Am I just another in a long line then?" I asked. His eyes hardened.

"What?" He asked.

"Joking." I insisted, raising my hands up in front of me in a surrender pose. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You're different." He told me.

"Different how?" I asked.

"I can't tell you yet, it's not how things are supposed to be."

I sighed and sat back down on the jump seat.

"Can we go somewhere now?" I asked. He shook his head.

"What?" I demanded.

"I'm taking a personal day." He insisted. "I'll come for you tomorrow." He said knowingly.

"What are you up to?" I asked.

"Hey, you told me about tomorrow with great zest. You're going to love it." He informed me, grinning at my disgruntled face.

"Will you not at least stay for a drink, I feel like I hardly know you." I demanded.

"What's the fun in knowing someone?" He asked. "Give us a hug, Thorn." He said, opening his arms out for me, widely.

"Thorn?" I asked.

"Thorn. Apparently that's what I call you now." He said and I hugged him back.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." I said sadly, stroking the Tardis as I left. I watched it disappear with a strong feeling of de-ja-vu. I sighed and once again set off for home.

Everyone spoke of how magical traveling with the Doctor is, yet I had spent about a day in his company and still thought him magical.


	10. Rose

ELEANOR

I was pretty excited. I hardly slept the previous night. For once there would be a day that excited me? I finally got around two hours of sleep, and after waking up and feeling freshened, I quickly showered and got changed. I dressed in a denim strappy suntop, shorts and tights and my cream vans. I then braided my hair and let it drape down my shoulder.

I grinned to myself as I heard a knock on the door, and rushed downstairs to answer it.

"Hello." The man at the door was not the Doctor. He was northern, he was wearing a leather jacket and he had fairly large ears.

"Who are you?" I accused rudely. He looked offended.

"Charming. I'm the Doctor." He informed me, smiling proudly and straightening up a little.

"No you're not." I retorted, narrowing my eyes. He narrowed his eyes back.

"And just how would you know that?" He asked, his tone of voice icy. It sent a chill down my spine.

"Because I've travelled with the Doctor." I replied, squaring up to him.

"Well that's the future me. And just who might you be?" He asked.

"Eleanor Thorn. So, you've never met me before? This is priceless." I said, grinning at him.

He smiled back a little uncomfortably.

"Are you someone I trust?" He asked.

"Infinitely."

"Then you can come with me, Eleanor Thorn. Pretty name." He informed me.

"Why thank you." I said, smiling and linking his arm. "Where are we going?"

"We're tracking down living plastic. I've been going around asking people if they've noticed anything out of the ordinary. Someone said something about a shop called Henricks. I thought I'd get more information thought."

"You're so different." I said. "What happened to you?" I asked, I stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"Nothing happened to me. I am different. What's your point?" He demanded, turning on me a little too harshly. I closed my mouth and continued walking; dropping his arm.

After a minute of silence, I asked, "Are we going to Henricks then?"

He nodded and walked a little more briskly. I sighed.

"If you want me to leave, then I will. The future Doctor said I was going to love today though." I sighed again. The Doctor slowed down a little, and beamed at me.

"We best make this day fantastic for you then, hadn't we?" I smiled back.

"Just who are you to me in the future?" He asked me.

"A close friend. We cross timestreams. His past is my future. Or should I say. 'your' past?" I asked, confused. He shrugged and smiled.

"Come on then Thorn." Nice to know the nickname started early.

He led the way into Henricks, which looked like a clothing store. He led us down to the basement by using the magic of the psychic paper. We looked around in the basements and warehouse but we couldn't find anything that looked like living plastic. Even when I questioned him about it, he didn't let too much on. It was like he was hiding something from me. Either that or he was completely different to my Doctor's.

We were walking down a corridor which was full of mannequins; but unfortunately, or fortuantely, none of them were living.

That's when we heard the shouting. A thick cockney accent was shouting for a man named Wilson. The Doctor started to run down the corridor and opened the door into which the girl was. She was about to be whacked by some very living plastic people, until the Doctor grabbed her hand and told her to run. When he was running back past me, he grabbed my hand too and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

He led us into a lift and the doors slammed shut... on a plastic arm. I squeaked and the girl looked distressed. The Doctor grabbed the arm and yanked it a couple of times before it fell off. I grinned at him as he waved it at me.

"You pulled his arm off." The girl accused, breathless and confused.

"Yep. Plastic." The Doctor replied.

"Very clever, nice trick! Who were they then? Students? Is this a student thing or what?" She asked, I snorted and she glared at me.

"Why would they be students?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know." She replied, as if it didn't matter. I snorted again.

"Well you said it. Why students?" The Doctor asked.

"'Cause to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they gotta be students." The girl reasoned.

"That makes sense." I informed her.

"Well done." The Doctor confirmed.

"Thanks." She said.

The Doctor's daft smile fell. "They're not students."

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's going to call the police." She told us.

"Wilson?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Who's Wilson?" The Doctor asked.

"Chief electrician." She replied.

"Wilson's dead." The Doctor and I said at the same time.

"That's not funny, that's sick!" The girl exclaimed, and I rolled my eyes. Like we'd made all this up for a joke? Pft.

The Doctor ignored that. "Hold on. Mind your eyes."

"I've had enough of this now!" The girl stressed. The Doctor disabled the lift with the sonic screwdriver.

"Who are you then? Who are you both? Who's that lot down there?" She demanded, we both ignored her. "I said, who are they?"

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof, which would be a big problem if I didn't have this." The Doctor said, holding up a bomb. "So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and we might well die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you go home. Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast. Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed." He said.

"You're so different." I laughed. He lightly smiled. Rose looked mad.

He shut the door behind us. He immediately opened it up again.

"I'm the Doctor, by the way. This is Eleanor. What's your name?" He asked.

"Rose." The blonde replied.

"Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!" He shouted, grinning.

3RD PERSON

Rose cautiously made her way out of the shop, and to the main road. She looked everywhere to see if she could see any autons. She ran across the road, narrowly avoiding cabs.

"Watch it!" The cab driver shouted.

Rose ducked slightly as the top floor of Henricks burst into flames. She took off running, and she sprinted right past the Tardis.

When she arrived at home, the BBC news on, and her hyperventilating Mother, Jackie, was pacing the flat. After a hug and reprimands as to why did she not ring? Jackie was on the phone to friends and family.

Rose slumped on the setee and watched the news.

"I know, it's on the telly. It's everywhere. She's lucky to be alive! Honestly, it's aged her. Skin like an old bible. Walking in now, you'd think I was her daughter. Oh, and here's himself." Rose rolled her eyes as her boyfriend, Mickey walked in.

"I've been phoning your mobile! You could've been dead, it's on the news and everything. I can't believe that your shop went up!" He exclaimed.

"I'm alright, honestly. I'm fine, don't make a fuss!" Rose insisted.

"Well, what happened?" Mickey asked.

"I don't know!" Rose exclaimed, clearly frustrated.

"What was it though? What caused it?" He asked again.

"I wasn't in the shop, I was outside. I didn't see anything."

"It's Debbie on the end. She knows a man on the Mirror. Five hundred quid for an interview!" Jackie exclaimed, smiling.

"Oh, that's brilliant! Give it here!" Rose said, sarcastically reaching for the phone. She took the phone and hung up.

"Well, you've got to find some way of making money. Your job's kaput and I'm not bailing you out." Jackie said. The phone rang again and Jackie picked it up, putting on the drama queen.

"Bev! She's alive! I've told her, sue for compensation. She was within seconds of death." Jackie said, and Rose rolled her eyes.

"What're you drinking? Tea? Nah, nah, that's no good, that's no good. You're in shock. You need something stronger!" Mickey told Rose.

"I'm alright." Rose insisted.

"Now, come on, you deserve a proper drink. We're going fown the pub, you and me. My treat. How about it?" He asked.

Rose grinned. "Is there a match on?" She asked.

Mickey looked hurt. "No, I'm just thinking about you babe."

"There's a match on, ain't there?" Rose asked, grinning more.

"That's not the point, but we could catch the last five minutes." Mickey said.

"Gone on then. I'm fine, really. Go. Get rid of that." Rose said, holding on the autons arm for Mickey. Mickey bent down to kiss her and took the arm.

"Bye bye." Mickey said.

"Bye."

Mickey pretended to be strangled by the arm, and then left.

Whistling, he threw the arm in a rubbish bin, where it then started to move.


	11. Technicalities

3RD PERSON

The next morning, Rose's alarm woke her up at half seven. She sighed and squinted at her clock. Jackie walked in, looking forlorn.

"There's no point getting up, sweetheart. You've got no job to go to."

Later on in the morning, Jackie was giving Rose career advice.

"There's Finch's, you could try them. They've always got jobs." Jackie told her.

"Oh great, the butchers." Rose sighed. Jackie's eyes rolled.

"Well, it might do you good. That shop was giving you airs and graces. And I'm not joking about compensation. You've had genuine shock and trauma. Arianna got two thousand quid off the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek! I know she is Greek, but that's not the point. It was a valid claim." Jackie insisted. Something rattled at the door and Rose looked annoyed at it. Or maybe she was annoyed at her mother...

"Mum, you're such a liar. I told you to nail that cat flap down. We're going to get strays." She complained.

"I did it weeks back!" Jackie shouted.

"No, you thought about it." Rose ammended.

Rose bent down to look at the cat flap. The bolts were on the floor and the flap moved. Rose cautiously reached out to open it. The Doctor peered through. She sighed and stood up to open the door. The Doctor and Eleanor were both stood there, looking confused.

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked.

"I live here." Rose replied.

"Well, what do you do that for?" He asked.

"Because I do. I'm only at home because someone blew up my job." Rose accused and Eleanor poked the Doctor.

"I must have the wrong signal. You're not plastic are you?" He asked. Eleanor knocked Rose on the head gently.

"No, bonehead. Bye then." The Doctor said, and turned around, pulling Eleanor by her hand behind him. Rose reached out and grabbed the hem of Eleanor's floral dress and pulled her inside, who in turn grabbed the Doctor's hand and pulled him too.

"You, inside. Right now." Rose said, dragging them into the flat even more.

"Who is it?" Jackie called. Jackie was in her peach silk bathrobe, applying makeup when the Doctor and Eleanor walked past, stopping at her bedroom door.

"It's about last night, he's part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes." Rose lied to her mother.

"She deserves compensation." Jackie told Eleanor and the Doctor. Eleanor smiled demurely and the Doctor simply nodded.

"Oh, we're talking millions." The Doctor assured her.

"I'm in my dressing gown." Jackie said. Eleanor glared at the woman and growled under her breath, positioning herself infront of the Doctor. The Doctor stared at his companion for a moment before looking back up at Jackie.

"Yes, you are." He confirmed.

"There's a strange man in my bedroom." Jackie said, ignoring Eleanor. Eleanor herself growled louder and moved closer to Jackie, a brutal instinct taking over her body. The only command was to look after the Doctor. And that meant from sexual attacks too.

"Stop." Eleanor muttered. Again, Jackie ignored her.

"Well, anything could happen." She finished. Eleanor shrieked and the Doctor grabbed her hand, which immediately calmed her down.

"No." He assured both of the women, and Eleanor glared at Jackie once more before following the Doctor out of the room. Jackie tossed her hair.

"Touchy." She muttered.

Eleanor refused to look at the Doctor in the eye, as much as he tried to. What was she doing?

"Don't mind the mess. Do you want a coffee?" Rose asked.

"Might as well, thanks. Just milk." The Doctor said.

"And you, Eleanor?" Rose asked. Eleanor was glad that Rose remembered her name.

"Coffee, milk, two sugars please." She said, smiling. Rose smiled back and went into the kitchen.

"What was that?" The Doctor demanded, keeping his voice quiet.

"I don't know, that's never happened before!" Eleanor insisted.

"It seems like you have it programmed inside you to protect me. We'll look into it later." The Doctor assured her.

"We should go to the police. Seriously, all three of us." Rose said from the kitchen. The Doctor picked up a copy of Heat from the coffee table.

"That won't last. He's gay and she's an alien." The Doctor told Eleanor, who snorted.

"I'm not blaming you, even if it was some sort of joke that went wrong." Rose said.

"It wasn't a joke." Eleanor called. The Doctor was pawing through a book.

"Hm. Sad ending." He muttered, and Eleanor roller her eyes at him and nudged him playfully.

"They said on the news they'd found a body." Rose informed them.

"Rose Tyler." The Doctor said, after reading her name from an envelope. And then everything flashed back to Eleanor. This wasn't any Rose. This was THE Rose. She gasped, earning a look from the Doctor which she shrugged off. She decided to be especially nice to Rose, as she would soon become the best friend of her best friend. Aw.

The Doctor caught sight of himself in the mirror, and gazed at himself. It was as if he had never seen himself in this form before.

"Ah, could have been worse. Look at the ears." He muttered. Eleanor hid her smile from him.

"All the same, he was nice. Nice bloke." Rose said. The Doctor picked up a pack of cards and shuffled through them, dropping them half way through. Eleanor snorted and picked them up for him.

"Luck be a lady." The Doctor said.

"Anyway, if we are going to the police, I want to know what I'm saying." Rose told them.

The cat flap rattled and the Doctor looked around. "What's that then?" The Doctor asked.

"Have you got a cat?" Eleanor asked.

"No." Rose replied.

An auton arm latched on to the Doctor's throat, and the instict came out in Eleanor again. She threw herself at the arm and with brutal strength she tried to pull it off, much to her dismay, it didn't come off. She pulled and pulled but nothing happened. She grunted in frustration as the Doctor's face grew more and more incarnadine.

"We did have, but now they're just strays. They come in off the estate." Rose called from the kitchen. She walked into the room carrying three mugs of coffee. She shook her head as she saw Eleanor and the Doctor messing about.

"I told Mickey to chuck that out. You're all the same. Give a man a plastic hand. Anyway, I don't even know your name, Doctor, what was it?" She asked. Eleanor glared at her frustratingly.

Eleanor managed to grab the arm off the Doctor's face, but it flew into the air and latched itself on Rose instead. The Doctor and Eleanor run after her, and try to pull it off. The Doctor and Rose fall onto the coffee table, and as Eleanor tries to help, she trips over them and lands on the smashed glass, smacking her head hard on the floor. The Doctor stares at her, but he's preoccupied. Meanwhile, Jackie was blow drying her hair, and she couldn't hear a thing of her living room being demolished.

The Doctor finally pulls the hand off, and sonics it, causing it to stop moving.

"It's allright, I've stopped it. There you go, see? Armless." The Doctor reassured Rose, and then crawled over to Eleanor.

"Do you think?" Rose asked, bonking him on the arm with it.

"Ow!" He shouted.

"Is she alright?" Rose asked, standing up. The Doctor picked her up and tried to get the glass off Eleanor's body, but a lot of it was lodged in her skin. He led her on the couch and gently plucked the glass from her body. Rose fetched some warm water and plasters. She cleaned the cuts and patched her up as the Doctor tried to revive her.

Finally, Eleanor had no more glass in her and she was slowly coming around.

"What the hell happened?" She muttered, placing a hand to her head gently.

"You tripped on the table and passed out darling." Rose said, gently brushing her hair away from her face.

"Why am I all cut?" El asked.

"You fell on glass." The Doctor said, as if he was blaming himself for what happened.

"Ah well." Eleanor said, smiling and shrugging.

"I'll get you some water." Rose said, and went back into the kitchen. The Doctor helped her to stand up.

"Are you ok?" He asked. Eleanor nodded and the Doctor squeezed her hand. He bent down a little and kissed her forhead, which had copper strands of hair strewn over it. He gently brushed some of them away, and El smiled at the sentiment.

Rose came back in with a pint of water for Eleanor, and she drank it quickly.

"Thank you." She said.

"You're welcome." Rose told her, getting the glass back.

The Doctor then walked off, pulling Eleanor behind him. Rose followed them down the stairs in her building.

"Hold on a minute, you can't just go swanning off!" She demanded.

"Yes we can. This is us, swanning off. See you." He retorted, Eleanor waved at her.

"But that arm was moving, it tried to kill me." Rose added.

"Ten out of ten for observation." The Doctor replied.

"Rude." Eleanor muttered.

"You can't just walk away, that's not fair. You've got totell me what's going on." Rose said, desperately.

"No I don't." The Doctor said.

"I think we do." Eleanor told him. He ignored her.

They walked outside the block of flats and Rose was still following them.

"All right, then. I'll go the police. I'll tell everyone. You said if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking." Rose warned them. Eleanor chuckled.

"Is that supposed to sound tough?" The Doctor asked.

"Sort of." Rose told him.

"Doesn't work." Eleanor retorted.

"Who are you?" Rose demanded.

"Told you. The Doctor, Eleanor." The Doctor replied.

"Yeah, but Doctor what?" She asked.

"Just the Doctor." Eleanor informed her.

"The Doctor." Rose stated.

"Hello!" The Doctor said, grinning.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose asked, smirking a little.

"Sort of." The Doctor said.

"Oh definitely." Eleanor said, grinning at Rose, who gently smiled back.

"Come on then, you can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the police?" Rose asked. Eleanor snorted again.

"No, I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home." The Doctor said and Eleanor nodded in confirmation.

"But what have I done wrong? How comes those plastic things keep coming after me?" Rose asked, scared.

"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you. You were just an accident. You got in the way, that's all." Said the Doctor.

"It tried to kill me." Rose retorted, raising her eyebrows.

"It was after us, not you. Last night, in the shop, we were there, you blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing." Eleanor smirked at the Doctors talking. "This morning, we were tracking it down, it was tracking us down. The only reason it fixed on you is because you've met us." The Doctor reasoned.

"So what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you?" Rose asked.

"Sort of, yeah." The Doctor said.

"Mainly him. I'm just his loyal companion." Eleanor interjected.

"You're full of it, both of it." Rose smirked.

"Sort of, yeah." The Doctor said.

"But, all this plastic stuff? Who else knows about it?"

"No one." Eleanor and the Doctor said at the same time.

"What, you two are on your own?" Rose asked.

"Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed and watch telly. While all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on."

Eleanor concluded that this Doctor was way more negative that hers. Although this one was techincally hers too, because she was growing fond of him, and even though this was his first time meeting her, she knew he felt their bond. Which is why he trusted her from the start.

"Ok, start from the beginning." Rose asked. "I mean, if we're going to go with the living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do, how do you kill it?"

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm, I cut off the signal, dead." The Doctor explained.

"So that's radio control?"

"Thought control." Eleanor said. "Are you alright?" She asked, placing a hand on Rose's back supportively.

"Yeah. So who's controlling it then?" She asked.

"Long story." The Doctor said.

"But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies, what's that about? Is there someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" Rose asked. Eleanor and the Doctor giggled.

"No." He said.

"No?" Rose asked, giggling too.

"It's not a price war." The Doctor retorted. His face suddenly grew serious. "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you."

"Do you believe him?" Eleanor asked her.

"No." Rose said.

"But you're still listening." Eleanor pointed out.

"Really though Doctor. Tell me, who are you?" Rose asked.

"Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go. That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home" The Doctor said, and pulled Eleanor into the Tardis. Eleanor poked her head outside the doors.

"Pleasure to meet you." Eleanor said, grinning. Rose smiled back.

"Same."

Eleanor disappeared into the box and Rose stood back, staring at it. She finally walked off, returning home. When she heard the sounds of the Tardis engines, she pelted back to where the Tardis had been, but it was gone. 


	12. Revelations

Back at Mickey's flat, Rose walked in.

"Hey, hey. Here's my woman! Kit off." Mickey joked. Rose scowled but smirked at the same time.

"Shut up." She warned him. Mickey bent down for a kiss which Rose was more than happy to give.

"Coffee?" Mickey asked her, walking into his kitchen.

"Yeah, only if you wash the mug. And I don't mean rinse, I mean wash." Rose joked. "Can I use your computer?" She asked.

"Yeah. Any excuse to get in the bedroom." Mickey joked. "Don't read my emails!" He shouted.

Rose logged on to the Internet and typed in 'Doctor' into the search bar. 17,700,000 results. Rose shook her head and typed in 'Living plastic'. 55,300 results. Rose sighed and instead typed in 'Doctor blue box.' This time there was only 493 results, and the first was labelled 'Doctor who? Do you know this man, contact Clive here.'

Rose smiled slightly to herself and clicked on the link. On the website there was a fuzzy picture of the Doctor looking at the camera.

Mickey drove down a street in his yellow VW Beetle, with Rose in the passenger seat.

"You're not coming in. He's safe, he's got a wife and kids." Rose told Mickey.

"Yeah, who told you that? He did. That's exactly what an Internet lunatic murderer would say!" Mickey exclaimed. A neighbour walked out of the back garden and put a bin out the front, whilst shooting a nasty look at Mickey, who returned the favour. Rose got out the car and walked over to Cllive's door and knocked on it. A little boy answered the door.

"Hello. I've come to see Clive? We've been emailing." Rose said to the boy. The boy stared at Rose for a second and then called for his Dad.

"Dad, it's one of your nutters!"

Clive came to the door, smiling at Rose.

"Oh, sorry. Hello. You must be Rose. I'm Clive, obviously.." He said, smirking.

"I'd better tell you now, my boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to kill me." Rose joked, and turned to look at Mickey, still in the car.

"No, good point. No murders." Clive replied, and waved happily at a glaring Mickey.

"Who is it?" A woman called, Rose guessed it was Clive's wife.

"Oh, it's something to do with the Doctor. She's been reading the website. Please come through, I'm in the shed." Clive said to Rose.

"She? She's read a website about the Doctor? She's a she?" The woman said, grinning and shutting the front door.

In Clive's shed, Clive was rummaging through photo's and newspaper clippings.

"A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive. I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept it, if you know what I mean. If you dig deep enough and keep a lively mind, the Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. No first name, no last name, just the Doctor. Always the Doctor. And the title seems to have been passed down from father to son. It appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor there, isn't it?" Clive asked Rose.

"Yeah." She replied.

"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive just last year. The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original..." Clive swapped the photo from the grainy picture on the website, to a picture of Kennedy's cortege in Dallas, where you can see the Doctor's face amongst many.

"November the 22nd, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy. You see?" Clive asked.

"It must be his father." Rose muttered, gazing at the photo.

"Going further back, April 1912. This is a photo of the Daniels family of Southampton, and friend." Clive said, pointing to a formal looking Doctor. "This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World on the Titanic, and for some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip and survived. And here we are. 1883. Another Doctor." This time it was a drawing of him. "And look, the same lineage. It's identical. This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings the storm in his wake and he has one constant companion." Clive said. Rose immediately thought of the American girl, Eleanor.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"Death." Clive said. Rose simply stared at him.

Back on the street, Mickey was looking at the bin the glaring man had put out. It gradually started moving closer and closer to Mickey's car.

"If the Doctor's back, if you've seen him Rose, then one thing's for certain. We're all in danger." Clive said.

Mickey watched the bin move closer and closer so he got out of the car. He walked slowly to the bin and lifted the lid up.

"Come on then." He said.

"If he's singled you out, if the Doctor's making house calls, then God help you." Clive said.

Mickey shut the lid and tries to move his hands away, but he finds that his hands are melded to the plastic. He pulls his hands back but the plastic from the bin just stretches, and Mickey's hands turn to plastic too. He pulls and pulls but the bin finally growls, and snaps Mickey inside.

Rose left Clive's house more than a little freaked out. She returned to the car where Mickey was back behind the wheel. His face looked a little more shiny and he had a sadistic grin on his face.

"All right, he's a nutter. Off his head. Complete online conspiracy freak. You win! What are we going to do tonight? I fancy a pizza." Rose said to Mickey, getting in the car.

"Pizza!" The plastic Mickey grinned. "P-p-p-pizza!"

"Or Chinese." Rose amended.

"Pizza!" Mickey finished and drove down the road, the car weaving through the street.

Later that day, Mickey and Rose were at a tale in a restaurant. Mickey was still plastic and still had the grin on his face. Rose seemed oblivious.

"Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had jobs going in the canteen. Is that it then? Dishing out chips? I could do A levels." Rose pondered. "I don't know. It's all Jimmy Stone's fault. I only left school because of him. Look where he ended up. What do you think?" Rose asked Mickey.

"So, where did you meet this Doctor?" The plastic Mickey asked. Rose glared.

"I'm sorry, wasn't I talking about me for a second?" Rose asked.

"Because I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Was he something to do with that?" Mickey asked.

"No." Rose lied.

"Come on." Mickey goaded.

"Sort of." Rose replied.

"What was he doing there?"

"I'm not going on about it, Mickey. Really, I'm not, because I know it sounds daft, but I don't think it's safe. I think he's dangerous." Rose replied.

"But you trust me sweetheart, babe, sugar, babe, sugar." His voice was deep and odd. "You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning and I can help you Rose. Because that's all I really want to do, sweetheart, babe, babe, sugar, sweetheart."

"What're you doing that for?" Rose asked.

"Your champagne." An American voice said, holding out a bottle to Mickey.

"We didn't order any champagne. Where's the Doctor?" Mickey demanded.

"Madam, your champagne." A northern voice said, holding out a bottle to Rose.

"It's not ours. Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?" Rose asked, concerned.

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" Eleanor asked.

"Look, we didn't order it." Mickey stressed. He looked up and saw Eleanor and the Doctor there, and his eyes widened. "Ah gotcha." Mickey said, grinning again.

Both Ellie and the Doctor started to shake their champagne bottles.

"Don't mind us, we're just toasting the happy couple. On the house!" The Doctor yelled, and they both popped the corks off the bottle and they both flew into Mickey's head. His face wobbled and melted, and after a second, the corks popped out of his mouth. El grimaced.

"Anyway." Mickey said, standing up and turning his hand into a chopper. Rose screamed and jumped away from the table as Mickey smashed it up. The Doctor grabs Mickey's head and yanks it off, throwing it to Eleanor, who caught it. It looked up at her and said, "Don't think that's going to stop me." El groaned and gave it back to the Doctor. Rose smashed the fire alarm as the rest of the body continued to smash up the restaurant. People and couples screamed and moved out off the way.

"Everyone out! Out now! Get out, get out, get out!" Rose yelled. The Doctor grabbed Ellie's hand and pulled them both, and Rose out through the kitchens. The Mickey body started to follow them.

ELEANOR'S POV.

I kept on my toes as the Doctor sealed the back door and Rose ran down the alley and straight past the Tardis. I clicked my fingers and the doors opened. I walked inside and sat down on the jump seat.

"Open the gate! Use that tube thing. Come on!" Rose yelled. I rolled my eyes.

"Sonic screwdriver." I heard the doctor amend.

"Use it!" Rose screamed.

"Nah. Tell you what, let's follow Eleanor in here." He said. I got back up and poked my head out of the door. I saw Mickey smashing the metal gate keeping us in, denting it with his big chopper hand.

Rose uselessly tried opening the gate, but she couldn't get it to open.

"You can't hide inside a wooden box. It's going to get us! Doctor!" Rose exclaimed. She finally ran into the Tardis and wildly looked around it. She pelted right back outside again and the Doctor gave me a look. After a few seconds she ran back in and shut the doors behind her.

"It's going to follow us." Rose pointed out.

"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried. Now, shut up a minute." The Doctor said.

"You see, the arm was too simple. But the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source. Right, where do you want to start?" The Doctor asked.

"Er, the inside's bigger than the outside?" Rose said. I sighed and sat back in the jump seat.

"It's alien" Rose said.

"Yeah." The Doctor confirmed.

"Are you alien?"

"Yes. Is that all right?" The Doctor asked.

"Is Eleanor alien?" She asked.

"Yes." The Doctor replied. I launched out of my seat and ran over to him.

"WHAT?" I demanded. He looked strangely at me.

"You didn't know?" He asked.

"Know what?" I shrieked.

"That you're half and half?" He asked.

"Half and half of what?"

"Half human, half time lord." And that's when I passed out.

3RD PERSON

Rose went over to Eleanor and cradled her head.

"Yes I'm fine with that." Rose told him. "Did she really not know?" She asked, pointing to Eleanor.

"I guess not. I scanned her when we first. We cross time streams apparently. Which means my past is her future. This is the first time I've met her, but she's met me a lot before." The Doctor explained. "She's half human and half of my species. Which means that to save her from the war, her parents put her in the chameleon arch and changed her into a human. It also means that the Tardis has converted her, ready for when she wants to become a true Time Lord." The Doctor pondered. "I'm not on my own." He muttered, smiling a little.

He moved Eleanor from the console floor and led her on the jump seat.

"Will she be alright?" Rose asked. The Doctor nodded.

"She's just in shock."

"What's the Tardis?" Rose asked.

"It's called the Tardis, this thing. T A R D I S. That's Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Rose burst into tears.

"That's ok. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us." The Doctor comforted her.

"Did they kill him? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?" Rose asked.

"Oh, I didn't think of that." The Doctor replied. Rose's eyes glazed over with fury.

"He's my boyfriend. You pulled off his head. They copied him and you didn't even think? And now you're just going to let him melt?" Rose demanded. Eleanor came around, holding her head.

"Second time that's happened today." She moaned.

"Melt?" The Doctor asked, and turned to where Mickey's head on the console. It was indeed melting.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor moaned. Ellie walked over to him.

"We're having a talk afterwards." She warned him.

He nodded and set the Tardis in motion.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"Following the signal. It's fading. Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Almost, there, almost there, here we go!" The Doctor exclaimed.

The Tardis landed and the Doctor and El rushed to the door, hand in hand.

"You can't go out there, it's not safe!" Rose exclaimed.

ELEANOR'S POV

Outside the Tardis, I felt strange. I was half and half? I pushed the thought to the back of my head and concentrated on what was happening now.

"I lost the signal. I got so close." The Doctor moaned.

"We've moved. Does it fly?" Rose asked, following us outside.

"Disappears there and reappears here." Eleanor explained.

"You wouldn't understand." The Doctor concluded. Eleanor rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"If we're somewhere else, what about the headless thing? It's still on the loose." Rose said.

"It melted with the head. Are you going to witter on all night?" The Doctor asked and Ellie smacked his arm.

"I'll have to tell his mother. Mickey. I'll have to tell his mother that he's dead. And you just went and forgot him, again! You were right, you are alien." Rose said.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey..." The Doctor started.

"Yeah, he's not a kid." Rose growled, moving towards the Doctor. Eleanor growled back and stepped in between them, with the instinct kicking in again.

"...It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet. All right?" The Doctor finished.

"All right." Rose said, her voice high pitched and annoyed. Eleanor relaxed and flashed an apologetic smile at Rose, who gently patted her shoulder.

"Yes it is!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"If you are an alien, how comes you sound like you're from the North? And you from America?" Rose asked.

"Lot's of planets have a north." The Doctor defended.

"And I lived in New York for the majority of my life. I thought I was human." I said sadly.

"What's a police public call box?" Rose asked.

"It's a telephone box, from the 1950's. It's a disguise."

"Ok. And this, this living plastic. What's it got against us?" Rose asked.

"Nothing. It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect." The Doctor said.

"Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. It's food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth. Dinner!" I exclaimed. "Doctor, how did I know that?" I asked, shakily. He simply looked at me.

"Any way of stopping it?" Rose asked, I slumped to the floor, my mind flooded with things I was remembering. A tear snaked down my face.

The Doctor held up a tube of blue liquid.

"Anti plastic."

"Anti plastic." Rose confirmed.

"Anti plastic. But I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" The Doctor asked.

"Hold on, hide what?" I asked.

"The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal." The Doctor explained.

"What's it look like?" Rose asked.

"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London. A huge, circular metal structure like a dish, like a wheel. Radial. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible. What?" He asked, and both Rose and I stared behind his head.

"What?" He asked again, turning around to look.

After a few turns and weird looks, the Doctor finally realised. We were staring right at the London Eye.

"Oh. Fantastic!" The Doctor exclaimed 


	13. Time Lordess

ELEANOR'S POV

The Doctor grabbed both mine and Rose's hands and together we ran across Westminster Bridge.

"Think of it. Plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires the cables." The Doctor said.

"Great way of getting me to calm down!" I shouted.

"The breast implants." Rose added to the list and I snorted at that one.

"Still. We've found the transmitter. The Conciousness must be somewhere underneath." He said.

"What about down here?" Rose asked, looking over a parapet to look at the manhole at the bottom of some steps.

"Looks good to me." The Doctor said, and we ran down the steps and the Doctor opened up the manhole. Inside was a blood red light.

We all climbed down a ladder, the Doctor going first, me going second and Rose following us at the end.

"The Nestene Conciousness. That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature." The Doctor said.

"Well then. Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go." Rose said.

"Nuh-uh." I said, shaking my head. This Docotor may be different in some ways, but he was still my Doctor.

"I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance."

"When has that ever worked before?" I asked, and the Doctor smirked. He went to a railing and looked down at the vat containing the Nestene. It was orangey red and I could vaguely pick out a face out of the oozing mess.

"I seek audience with the Nestene Conciousness under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation." The Doctor shouted.

The Conciousness flexed and twisted.

"Thank you. If I might have permission to approach?" He asked.

I heard Rose gasp and she ran down some steps. She had found Mickey.

"Oh, God! Mickey! It's me! It's ok, it's alright." Rose assured him. He was sweaty and very human.

"That thing down there, the liquid. Rose, it can talk!" Mickey exclaimed, looking terrified.

"You're stinking. Doctor, they kept him alive." Rose shouted up to us. I would have gone down to make sure he was ok, but I wasn't going to leave the Doctor.

"Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy." The Doctor said.

"You knew that and you never said?" Rose demanded.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" I asked.

The Doctor walked a little further down and I followed him.

"Am I addressing the Conciousness? Thank you. If I might observe. You infiltrated this civilisation y means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" The Doctor asked, smiling proudly at his own little joke.

The face strained against it's plastic form and it looked angry.

"Oh, don't give me that." The Doctor said to it. "It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights! I AM TALKING! This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf, please. Just go."

"Doctor! Eleanor!" Rose yelled, and two plastic dummies grabbed us from the behind and tried to wrestle us into the plastic. We fought it quite well. The Doctor's auton grabbed the anti-plastic vial from inside his jacket and I hung my head and closed my eyes.

"That was just insurance. I wasn't going to use it. I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not. What do you mean?" The Doctor asked, and a door slid back to reveal the Tardis. I sighed.

"No. Oh no, honestly no. Yes, that's my ship. That's not true. I should know, I was there, I fought in the war. Yes, she's Time Lord. She's half human because her parents sent her here to save her from the war. No. Don't say that. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" The Doctor stressed, and I knew he was talking about me.

"What's it doing?" Rose called.

"It's the Tardis! The Nestene's identified it's superior technology. It's terrified. It's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion. Get out, Rose! Just leg it now!" The Doctor screamed to her. He looked at me sadly and we both reached to hold hands.

The Nestene was stretching and straining and screaming. Someone wasn't happy.

Rose got out her phone and dialled a number.

"Mum?" Rose asked. "Where are you, Mum? No, go home! Just go home right now! Mum! Mum!"

Meanwhile, the Nestene was throwing energy bolts all around, and the heat was immense.

"It's the activation signal. It's transmitting!" The Doctor yelled, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"It's the end of the world." Rose said.

3RD PERSON

In the shopping centre, Clive, his wife and children were walking past a shop.

"There's no point creating a spreadsheet if you're going to spend summer money in winter months." Clive complained. In the window display, a shop dummy moved.

"Oh, my God! I thought they were dummies. I nearly had a heart attack." His wife said. Everyone around stopped to watch the display, and in the background, Jackie was coming down the escalator. One of the dummies smashed the glass window and they all started to walk out. People screamed and ran away, and chaos soon ensued.

"It's true. Everything I read, all the stories. It's all true." Clive muttered. An Auton dropped its fingers to reveal a gun, and shot an exhasperated Clive. His wife and children scream and cry and run off.

ELEANOR'S POV

"Get out, Rose! Just get out! Run!" The Doctor yelled.

"Do what he says, Rose!" I shouted.

"The stairs have gone." Rose shouted back. The autons now tried to shove the Doctor and I harder into the vat, but we fought back and were managing to stop them.

Rose pulled Mickey off the ground and they both dove for the Tardis.

"I haven't got the key!" Rose exclaimed.

"We're going to die!" Mickey moaned.

Rose looked around to see if there was any other way of getting out. A tear slid down my face as the auton managed to shove me against the railings. I heard the Doctor yell as I slid down the railings and almost fell in. But I grabbed the railings just in time, and swung right over the Conciousness, if I had fallen anymore I would have died. I screamed and kicked, trying to find something to put my feet in, but I was only being held up by my hands on the railings. I heard the Doctor and Rose yelling for something to help me, but none of them could move to help me.

"No!" The Doctor yelled, as my fingers started slipping a little.

"Doctor!" I moaned, kicking and thrashing.

"Time lord." The Nestene croaked. Rose stood up and looked down at the Doctor and Eleanor. She then ran to the chamber.

"Just leave them! There's nothing you can do!" Mickey yelled.

"I've got no A levels. No job. No future." Rose laughed, as she grabbed an axe. "But I tell you what I have got. Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastic team. I've got the bronze!" She said, and chopped through rope and takes a hold on it. She ran and swung herself over the Doctor and kicked two autons into the vat, narrowly missing me. However, one of them had the anti-plastic. The Nestene below me screamed and started to turn blue. The Doctor sprinted over to me and grabbed my hands and pulled me over the edge. As soon as my feet hit the ground I enveloped him in a hug and nestled my face in his shoulder. He smoothed down my hair and whispered reassuring things in my ear. I heard Rose whoop with relief behind me.

The Doctor quickly let me go and caught Rose as she flew back down. I hugged her too.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"I'm just glad you're ok." She whispered back.

3RD PERSON

The hundreds of autons in the town centres staggered and fell over, twitching and moving on the ground. Jackie stood up, after narrowly avoiding death, and laughed out of relief as everyone else got up too.

ELEANOR'S POV

We all ran over to the Tardis, where Mickey was clinging on to it like a baby koala, and we all ran inside. We landed on a street somewhere and Mickey pelted out of the Tardis, obviously terrified.

Rose dialled on her phone again.

"Rose, Rose, don't go out of the house. It's not safe. There were these things, and they were shooting! And they-" Rose laughed and cut her mother off.

Rose walked over to Mickey, who was sobbing behind a pallet. The Doctor and I stood in the doorway of the Tardis.

"Fat lot of good you were." Rose said.

"Nestene Conciousness? Easy." The Doctor said.

"You were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me." Rose said, pointing a look at me. The Doctor looked at me too and smiled.

"Yes, she would. And I would too. Thank you. Right then, I'll be off, unless, er, I don't know. You could come with us. This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge." The Doctor said, and I grinned and nodded along with him.

"Don't. He's an alien. He's a thing." Mickey said.

"He's not invited." I growled at Mickey.

"What do you think? You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go anywhere." The Doctor said, smirking.

"Is it always this dangerous?" Rose asked.

"Yeah." The Doctor and I said together.

"Yeah, I can't. I've er, I've got to go and find my mum and someone's got to look after this stupid lump. So." Rose said, patting Mickey on the head.

"Ok, see you around." The Doctor said, and I waved and we stepped into the Tardis.

3RD PERSON

"Come on, let's go. Come on. Come on." Rose said to Mickey, taking his hand.

The Tardis reappeared and Ellie and the Doctor stepped back out.

"By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?" He said, and El grinned.

"Thanks." Rose said to Mickey.

"Thanks for what?" Mickey asked.

"Exactly." Rose said, and kissed him on the cheek. She pelted into the Tardis, grinning and El shut the doors behind them.

Rose stood at the door, as the Doctor grinned. She then looked between the both of them and smiled to herself.

"I do believe that you two wanted to talk?" Rose said, and stepped away for a moment.

"What the hell am I?" Eleanor asked him. "And why does the future Doctor not know?" She asked.

"I scanned you because I needed to know that I could trust you. The future one probably didn't do that. You're half of Time Lord and half human. I'm guessing your parents sent you to Earth during the Time War, and made you human to keep you safe. They gave you to surrogate parents and let you grow up. Do you have a fob watch?" The Doctor asked. Eleanor pulled it out of her pocket.

"If you open that you'll become a full time lord. I don't reccomend you do it yet, let your body adjust to being a half time lord. The first time you do it always hurts more. You'll know when your ready." The Doctor told her. 


	14. The Beheading of Marie Antoinette

Prepare yourselves for romance... Sorry it's so short though!

Authors note- I haven't done anything ever about the French Revolution, but it's always intrigued me. I apologize profoundly if I have the history wrong, but it's more about the monsters involved etc... Thanks for understanding:)

"Are you staying?" Rose Tyler asked, once the Doctor went back to the console.

"I don't think so. Me and the Doctor... we're pretty much a one at a time deal. It means I get to spend time with the future him as well as the past." I told her, smiling.

"That still confuses me." Rose laughed, she seemed high on excitement. "Does he know?" Rose asked.

"I think so." I replied, looking fondly at the Doctor.

"Eleanor, you'll be back home shortly." The Doctor shouted over to us.

"You might want to hold on." I warned Rose, she looked worried and grabbed hold of a pillar near me.

"Where are you from?" Rose asked.

"New York originally. But there were these ghost things... long story short, I moved to London." I told her.

"What year?" She asked, looking shifty.

"2012."

"Wow. So... am I still.. with him?" She asked, pointing to the Doctor. I looked at my feet. She shrugged and turned away from me, facing the Doctor. We finally landed and the Doctor bounded over to me and enveloped me in a bone crushing hug.

"I'm counting on seeing you again." The Doctor whispered in my ear. "Keep being fantastic." He said, and I suddenly longed for my messy haired, pin stripe suit wearing Doctor, who often told me to 'keep being brilliant.'

"I'll try my best." I promised him, smirking. He turned away and busied himself with the console. I walked over to Rose.

"And I will see you again, Mrs." I promised, laughing and hugging her. She hugged back and sniffed a little. I realised that she was crying.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, wiping her tears away with my sleeve.

"I don't know, I'll miss you." She said, giggling at her crying. I giggled too, hugged her once more, waved at the Doctor, stroked the Tardis and left, stepping out onto my street. I sighed and waited until the girl had disappeared and then, hugging my arms, I went into my house.

*

A few days later, I was playing with my cat, Lolita, when I heard her. That magical sound full of hope and love, and I picked Lo up and pelted down my stairs.

He knocked on the door, and I waited a second before opening it, wondering which Doctor it would be.

It was Bow Tie. I smiled and hugged him tightly, and he hugged me back. He buried his face in my hair and I stiffened a little as his thumbs rubbed circles on the small of my back. I pulled myself back a little and he gazed into my eyes.

"What?" I asked, glaring and thrusting Lolita into his arms. He looked taken aback and held her like he was holding a football.

"Why are you holding my baby like that?" I laughed, adjusting his arms so that he was holding her properly.

"Why am I holding your cat?" He asked, staring at it with wide eyes.

"You're acting as if she's a monster, give her here then." I demanded, holding my arms out. "Bye bye Lolita." I cooed, and after kissing her head, I set her down and let her run back into my house. I shut the front door, smiled at the Doctor and took his hand. His eyes calmed down a little and his tense body relaxed.

He swung our hands as we walked to the Tardis, and once again, his thumbs were rubbing against my skin. I decided to test him, and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Oh thank God." He muttered, and pulled me in quicker to the Tardis, almost running, even.

"Doctor, what?" I asked, running after him, alarmed.

As soon as the Tardis doors were shut, he launched himself at me.

He walked over cautiously, staring at nothing except my eyes. I titled my head a little, wondering why the hell he was acting so weird.

"I didn't know... if it had happened to you yet." He said, approaching me as if I was a startled faun. "It happened so long ago for me, I've had to be patient." He said, and I glared harder at him, completely and utterly confused.

There was a tiny gap between us now, I could feel his breath on my face, and he smelt of the universe and infinity and everything wonderful.

He put his hands around my waist and I gasped as his lips crushed onto mine, dizzying me with his aroma. I had never smelt him before.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran a hand through his mess of hair, and he groaned a little. His teeth were nibbling on my bottom lip, and I re-payed the favour by running my tongue over his. He deepened the kiss, and picked me up by my waist. I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me over to the console. He set me down on the jump seat, and bent down to me and pulled away.

I moaned in frustration and he smirked.

"It hasn't happened for you yet, has it?" He asked.

"I don't think it has, no." I replied, a little breathlessly. We'd obviously done this before.

"Sorry about, um, that." The Doctor said, blushing a little and walking away to the console, a hand brushing through his hair.

I didn't say anything.

I slowly walked over to him and engulfed him in a hug, he hugged me back and I giggled and how stupid he was.

"What?" He said, looking nervously at me.

"You're funny." I said. I suddenly remembered something, and reached over and slapped his cheek.

Hard.

"Is that for something I did a long time ago?" He asked.

"No." I replied.

"Ok..." He said, looking at me like I was a bomb.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner that I'm a Time Lord." I said, and his eyes widened in realisation.

"I told you the first time I met you!" He exclaimed.

"Not the first time I met you though, I'd have thought that would have been a priority!" I told him, and he shifted back from me a little.

"Yes, quite right." He agreed. I shook my head at him.

"Have I opened the watch anywhere in your past?" I asked.

"Yes." He said morosely.

"Am I a good Time Lord?" I asked, laughing nervously.

"The best." He said, grinning. I grinned back and he snapped out of his little trance thing.

"Right!" He exclaimed, rushing over to the console. "Where do you want to go?" He asked.

I'd been thinking of this for a long time. "The French Revolution." I said. His eyes widened and he looked surprised.

"Your the first person who's been that precise, apart from Rose. But we won't get into that." The Doctor said, smirking a little. "The French Revolution it is. 1792. The Queen of France being beheaded. Lovely." He said, smirking at me. I grinned back and grabbed hold of the console.

"And landing in 3, 2, 1!" He exclaimed and took my hand. Together, we walked out of the Tardis and into Paris.

The city was a cacophony of sounds. Some people were talking animatedly, wearing their red caps, some looked solemn, some were laughing, some crying. It was a mixture of feelings, although the one that struck me the most was relief. The Doctor and I pushed our way to the front of the sea of red, and we reached the guillotine.

"Place de la R volution, the place of death of Queen Marie Antoinette." The Doctor muttered.

"Fascinating." I said, as I watched the poor revolutionists of France standing up to the aristocrats.

"In about five minutes, Mrs Antoinette will be headless." The Doctor said, and a group of Parisians around us cheered and grinned at us. I smiled back and the Doctor did too. He wasn't superficial.

I continued to watch the crowd around me, seeing how happy they were, noticing how solemn some were. I turned to the Doctor for some more history, but he was gone. I gasped and turned around, searching wildly for him.

And then I remembered something I'd first done a long time ago, and now I understood why I could do it. I was Time Lord.

I shut my eyes, thought of the Doctor and willed myself to be with him.

3RD PERSON

The Doctor had his hands tied to his back and was being led by a French man, in a rather unconvincing wig and faux rich clothes.

"Get off me!" He was protesting, trying to get out of their grips.

"You are the Doctor." It said, the Doctor nodded. "You will help." The Doctor noticed that there was no accent when the man spoke, it was a mechanical voice, almost robotic.

"I'll help if it's the right thing to do, yes." The Doctor agreed. The man didn't even turn around at that, he just continued to lead the Doctor into a prison.

"Where are you taking me?" The Doctor demanded.

"You will help, you are the Doctor, you will help, you are the Doctor." The man repeated, and the Doctor looked around wildly as the man led him into a cell in the prison, and locked the door behind them.

"Who are you?" A woman said, and the Doctor's eyes widened as he stood in front of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.


	15. The Girl in the Guillotine

"Who are you?" Marie repeated, standing up off her stool. Her dress wasn't nearly as grand and expensive as expected, she was wearing a floor length, slim fitting gown, with only a few gems around the neck. The Doctor's eyes returned to their normal size and he sighed, and was finally set down by the strange man who left him there.

He turned to him. "Listen, I will help you if you go and get my friend. She's got coppery long hair, and big eyes and she's beautiful. She's called Eleanor. Please get her." The Doctor said.

"You don't need to do that, I'm right here." Eleanor said, appearing in the room. Marie gasped and placed one hand on her chest and stretched a finger out to El.

"She just... appeared! Out of nowhere!" She gasped. The Doctor led her to the stool and sat her down. The light was barely bright enough to see what he was doing, so Eleanor helped him.

"What's going on?" Eleanor asked, turning to the man.

"I recognise you." The Doctor accused, after finally being able to see the mans face. "You were there, Versailles. You tried to kill Madame de Pompadour." He said, glaring at the man. "But you died, you powered down! How are you here?" He demanded.

Marie coughed, and the Doctor turned to her. "He's been with me all my life." She told him, pointing to the man.

"And you didn't think to ask who he was? Your majesty, this thing... oh this thing wants YOU." He said, realising it's intentions.

"It wants me?" Marie questioned, glaring at the Doctor.

"It can't be another of their ships that has crashed, this one must have escaped somehow." The Doctor said, staring at the clockwork man in wonder.

"My ship crashed, my crew mates are dead. I am on my own. We do not have the parts." The man said, his clockwork voice coming through again.

"So this time, you thought you'd come for the Queen of France? Reinette isn't enough for you to stalk, so you have to stalk her too?" The Doctor demanded, glaring at it and pointing at the Queen. Eleanor looked between them all, confused and wondering what was going on.

"Doctor, what is that thing?" She asked, pointing to the clockwork man. The Doctor strode over to it and pulled the mask and wig of its face. Eleanor gasped and grinned at how eloquent the man was. His head was made of glass, and inside was the most intricate and delicate concoction of cogs and wheels, which definitely explained the ticking.

"You're all on your own." Eleanor muttered, moving closer to the man, close enough to feel it's breath on her face, if it had lungs.

"Eleanor, don't!" The Doctor said, as Eleanor reached out to touch it. The clockwork man grabbed Eleanor's arm and trapped it behind her back and did the same with the other arm. Eleanor gasped as he injected her with some bright green liquid. She gazed at the Doctor for a moment, who's head was in his hands, before she slumped onto the floor. Marie screamed, and covered her eyes with her hands.

"You're a monster!" She accused, pointing this time to the clockwork man. The clockwork man ticked and turned to look at her.

"You are not ready." He chimed, and pressed his wrist to disappear. The Doctor was still holding his wig.

"Will she be alright?" Marie asked, pointing to Eleanor on the floor.

"Yeah, she'll recover in a few minutes. Or hours." The Doctor said, picking her up and moving her to a more comfortable part of the room. "She has a tendency to pass out." The Doctor said, smiling fondly at his memories.

"What does that... beast want?" Marie asked.

"Last time I met them, their ship had broken. But there were so much more of them then. They needed human parts for their ship to work. They didn't do it, I trapped them in one time period, so they shut themselves down. But there's this one, and it's coming after you." It said.

"And they went after Madame de Pompadour? Reinette?" Marie gasped. "And now they're after me." She whispered. "I'd rather be beheaded than have those things use me in their ship." She muttered. She looked up at the Doctor.

"You saved Jeanne, can you save me?"

"I will save you from those things, but I can't save you from the guillotine. That's a fixed point in history."

Marie gulped. "Thank you... wait. What is your name?" She asked.

"The Doctor." He replied.

"Doctor who?" She asked, fanning herself lightly.

"Exactly." Eleanor groaned, as she staggered to her feet. The Doctor rushed over to her and helped her.

"Are you OK love?" He asked.

"Love?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Slip of the tongue." He assured her, immediately moving his hands away from her and turning to the Queen, who was smirking demurely at them.

"That's Marie Antoinette." The Doctor whispered in Eleanor's ear.

"I gathered." She snorted. "Pleasure to meet you, your Majesty." Eleanor said to her, and curtsied, which made the Doctor snort. Eleanor glared at him.

"What an infirm curtsy." The Queen said, "What's your name woman?" She asked, glaring at her. Eleanor looked at the Doctor for help.

"Eleanor Thorn." She said.

"Why are you dressed like a common whore?" She asked, gazing at Eleanor's high waisted shorts and vest top. Eleanor looked down at her clothes.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She muttered, and the Doctor placed a hand on her back.

"She's from America. There, anything goes." He assured Marie, earning himself a slap from Eleanor.

"That's enough chatting, what are we going to do, Doctor?" Marie asked impatiently.

"I can see why people don't like you." Eleanor muttered to herself, and the Doctor guffawed. Luckily, Marie didn't hear. The Doctor started to pace the cell.

"Why did the clockwork man ask me for help?" The Doctor asked.

"Maybe he wanted you to stop her death." Eleanor pondered, smiling a little at Marie when she said 'death.' Marie turned her head away demurely.

"Enough of that." The Doctor reprimanded Eleanor, who glared at him. He smirked, winked and moved on.

"Now then, they want your brain, your Majesty. And nothing will stop it, apart from your death; as Eleanor said."

"If she's going to be beheaded, could they not have her brain then?" Eleanor asked.

"No, they need it to be alive. If they cut her head off, the brain will be dead. They must have a special way of preserving the brain without a need for the body." The Doctor pondered. "WAIT!" He shouted. "It said it didn't have the right time, which means it will go into the future. Aah!" He said, pressing his hands to his temple.

"What is it?" El asked gently.

"It's relying on me to save you, because that's what I do. It thinks I will save you, and then it will come back for you in the future. But you won't be there, you'll be dead. Aha!" The Doctor exclaimed, grinning. Marie Antoinette looked terrified.

"I don't think I'm quite ready to die." Marie said sadly. The Doctor looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact. Eleanor ignored her and launched at the Doctor with a new question.

"But if it can't have her, won't it just move on to someone else?" She asked.

"Exactly, we need to stop it." The Doctor said. "But how?" He asked.

"Can you not send it home?" Eleanor asked. The Doctor grinned at her.

"Most people would say kill it. But you think of the most humane way, don't you? Killing it never even entered your mind, that's why you're quite marvellous." He said. "Rightio. We'll send it back to it's home, if it has one. We have to find it first. Looks like we're going on it's ship." The Doctor said, picking up Eleanor's hand and pulling her out of the cell.

"You can't just leave me here!" Marie Antoinette exclaimed. "They're going to murder me!"

"We know." The Doctor said. "It's the way it's always got to be. If I could save you, I would." He assured her, and continued walking out of the prison.

"I don't like her very much." Eleanor said. The Doctor smirked, and as soon as he saw an out of place mirror, he set off running towards it, pulling Eleanor with him.

"What's that doing there?" Eleanor asked.

"It's a door to his ship." The Doctor explained.


	16. Sweet Nothings

ELEANOR

The Doctor pushed the mirror and it flipped open like a door, revealing a vast array of computer monitors, wires and leads, extension cables and machines.

"Woah." I muttered.

"The last time I was here was with Rose and her boyfriend, Mickey. You were there too." The Doctor marvelled, looking around as if reliving a precious memory; which to some extent, he was. He smiled fondly.

"The only thing missing is Arthur."

"Who's Arthur?" I asked.

"The horse." He said matter-of-factly, and walked off without so much as a backward glance. I raised my eyebrows and followed him.

"So what are we doing here?" I asked, and brushed past some plastic curtain things after the Doctor.

"Looking for our friend." He said. I sighed dreamily as I thought of the machine, so beautiful.

"Is it a Time Lord thing to find machinery beautiful?" I asked him, and he chuckled a little and grabbed my hand. "Is it a Time Lord thing to be able to close your eyes and transport yourself to where another Time Lord is?" I asked gently, staring at him to watch his reaction.

"With certain people, yes." He replied subtly, not looking at me.

"What types of people?" I asked, digging for more information about me.

"It doesn't matter." He insisted, and yelped when we turned a corner and saw the clockwork man stood in front of us. The Doctor gently placed the wig and mask over the head, and I gasped at how creepy he looked. His head turned to one side and he dinged a little.

"She is dead. We do not have the parts." The man said, and despite his clockwork voice, he sounded forlorn.

"There's nothing you can do. You can't keep tracking down women from the French past, because we'll stop you." The Doctor informed him, and the clockwork man looked at me.

"Why's it looking at me?" I asked. The Doctor shook his head in a silent 'I don't know.'

The man tilted his head again, and I moved to the left, and his head snapped to follow me.

"You will come with me." The man said.

"No, no I won't. Thanks though." I said, smiling sweetly and gripping the Doctor's hand tightly.

"Don't you dare even think about using her." The Doctor warned, becoming the oncoming storm, the man of fire and ice, the raging sea, everything dark about the world condensed into one man, and he was fighting for me. My heart raced and panged at the threatening tone he used, and I suddenly yearned to hug him.

"Not the time." I muttered to myself, earning an odd look from the Doctor. I smiled to myself and planned to ambush him with hugs as soon as we were safe.

"We cannot let you continue the way you're doing, but..." The Doctor started, "And this is a very big but, like Eleanor's..." That earned him a slap on the arm, "We can help you get back to your home." The Doctor said, dropping my hand and circling the man.

The man didn't follow the Doctor's walking, his gaze was still fixated on me. As quick as lightning, the man grabbed me and pressed his wrist. The last thing I heard was the Doctor's agonized roar.

We had disappeared and reappeared in another control room, much like the first. I slapped his hand away from mine, and walked as far away from him as I could. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and so I answered it.

"Hello." I muttered, not wanting the clockwork man to take it off me.

"Eleanor, it's me. Put me on speaker phone." The Doctor said. I walked closer to the man and put the phone on speaker phone.

"Done." I said. The man looked at the phone.

"Listen, you're in so much trouble now that you've taken Eleanor away from me, because now I'm going to fight harder to get her, and I may not be so delicate with you in the mean time. Either bring her back to me right now, in one piece, or I will kill you." The Doctor warned, and hung up. My heart was racing again with the longing to see him, and a tear slid down my face.

"You are crying." The man said to me.

"Yeah." I laughed. "I guess I'm too much in love with him for my own good."

3RD PERSON

The Doctor was pacing up and down the control room, not wanting to wander off in case Eleanor escaped, not wanting to stay still in case she was lost somewhere. He was antsy to say the least. After he hung up the phone, he sat on a stool, and waited. He waited for three minutes before he got impatient. That's when the pacing commenced.

"Come on you clockwork idiot. Bring her back to me." He said. His phone rang again, and he answered immediately.

"El, where are you?" He asked.

"He's going to walk me back to you." She replied.

"Walk?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know, he asked me why I was crying and then he said he wanted to walk. I don't get it, so don't ask." She sighed.

"Hurry up, to me." He said, and she hung up. He jumped on the spot, knowing full well why he was so anxious.

He wanted to transport himself to her, but she didn't yet know the secret; the big secret. The secret of the Time Lord's, which explained why they could transport to each other, why they had this strong desire within them to protect the other, why they loved each other at first sight, and why he couldn't stop thinking of her. They were soul mates. Binded together at birth, forced to walk alone until they met up with each other. He had known from the start, but Eleanor didn't. The Doctor knew that if she was a full Time Lord, she would know, but due to her human mind, she didn't.

The Doctor sighed and suppressed the urge to locate his Eleanor. Finally, he heard footsteps and rushed over to meet them both.

He grabbed Eleanor's hand and pulled her to him.

"Why were you crying?" He demanded quietly.

"I was worried that he was going to kill me." She lied.

"Why didn't you kill her?" The Doctor asked the man, who was standing in the corner of the room. The Doctor didn't notice Eleanor gently shaking her head at the man, secretly begging for him to say nothing. Strangely, the man understood.

ELEANOR

As the man and I walked through the corridors of his ship, I told him, "I don't know if you understand this, but you musn't tell the man that I love him." She begged. "If you do that for me, I will guarantee that we'll take you home." She promised.

The man nodded robotically. "Why didn't you kill me?" She whispered.

"The concept of love is an odd one." The man replied, and Eleanor smiled to herself, completely agreeing.

3RD PERSON

"I want to go home." The clockwork man said, and the Doctor sighed and pinched his nose.

"You have to. For me." Eleanor said to him, and he too knew it, deep down.

"Fine, come on." The Doctor said, and pulled Eleanor by the hand through the window door. The clockwork man followed them. They all walked out of the prison, and back into the courtyard.

Before they went to the Tardis, they stopped as they heard the whimpers of a French Queen seconds from death. Eleanor closed her eyes as she heard the guillotine drop and a head fall into a basket, but she could feel the hope and joy of the Revolution through the crowds cheers. Without daring to look at the headless monarch, Eleanor this time led them onto the Tardis.

The clockwork man told the Doctor where to take him, as Eleanor led on the jump seat, thinking through the fact that only this morning, Eleanor had been a friend of the Doctor's, and now she had realised she loved him? She pulled the watch out of her pocket, and stroked it.

"Not now." It said to her, lovingly and softly, and she sighed and put it back in her pocket.

When the Tardis landed, the Doctor pushed the doors open for the clockwork man, who simply walked out, alien to the concept of gratitude, as well as love. The Doctor sighed and shut the door behind him, and looked at Eleanor, who was sat in her daydream world.

"Why were you really crying?" The Doctor asked gently, walking over and sitting next to her.

"You could tell I was lying?" Eleanor asked, smiling gently.

"I can always tell when you're lying." The Doctor replied. Eleanor frowned.

"I can always tell when you're lying actually. And when you're upset. Or happy. Why is that?" El asked.

"Time Lord thing." The Doctor replied quickly. Of course, he wasn't technically lying, so Eleanor couldn't tell. She nodded and put her head on her soulmate's arm, and he wrapped it around her and pulled her into his side. He bent down and kissed the top of her hair, and quietly, so quietly that she couldn't possibly hear, he whispered something to her.

"I love you infinitely." 


	17. The Planet of the Ood

-Disclaimer- I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO!

Eleanor pulled back from the Doctor's embrace and smiled at him. The Doctor looked forlorn.

"Just... let me try something." Eleanor said, gently taking the Doctor's face between her hands.

"Oh my God, this is it." The Doctor muttered, and closed his eyes. Eleanor brought her face to his, and he moaned as their lips met. He moved his flailing hands to her hair and tangled them their, Eleanor kept her hands on his face, and she could feel the blood pumping through his body two times faster than hers, and she hoped that she could soon join him, taking away his loneliness and stabbing it with a knife. She would stand by his side for everything.

She broke off the kiss, and looked at his closed eyes for a minute. She smiled gently and stepped back.

"Now take me home." She demanded, crossing her arms and strolling over to the console, leaving the Doctor struggling to gather any substantial thoughts.

"Right, yes. Quite so." He muttered, and bounded to the console and danced his way around the console board.

Eleanor smiled at him being completely entranced by his work.

"Grab something!" He yelled at her, when the Tardis began beaming through the Vortex. She grabbed his hand with one of hers and the console with her other. The Doctor grinned at her as she lent up and kissed him once more.

As she nibbled his bottom lip and moaned encouragingly, the Doctor, in his infinite wisdom, lost his balance and tumbled to the floor, taking Eleanor with him.

"Ow!" She moaned, nursing her head. The Doctor bounded up, helped her up and sadly opened the doors.

"What are you going to do now?" Eleanor asked him gently.

"Find another version of you." The Doctor said, grinning.

"Another version of me?" Eleanor asked, wondering what he meant.

"Yep. Now go before I change my mind." He joked, and kissed her cheek.

"Bye Doctor!" She called, and stroked the Tardis, like she always did, before leaving. This time she didn't watch her leave, but instead, she rubbed her cheek and smiled as she felt his kiss linger on her skin like a strong perfume.

She hadn't even walked to her house by the time the Tardis appeared near her house. El sighed and sprinted over to the doors, and pushed them open. It was Ten. Eleanor smiled to herself, it had been a while since she had seen him.

"Doctor!" Eleanor sang, throwing her arms around him. He grinned and hugged her back, and after setting her down, he looked at her in the eyes solemnly.

"Now then, you're about to meet someone... feisty. Right now she's visiting her family, but when she comes back... well actually. I don't know what she'll do. I'm just warning you." The Doctor said, before grinning at me again.

"When's the last time you saw me?" I asked him.

"About... ooh, about a week ago." He said, scratching his chin.

"I don't know how you can go that long before seeing me." I joked, and fluttered my hand to my chest. He smirked and flicked some switches on the console.

"When's the last time you saw me?" He asked.

"About five minutes ago." I said, smiling fondly to myself.

"I just dropped you off?" He asked, looking up at me through his lashes. I nodded and sat myself on the jump seat.

"What's this girl called?" I asked, propping my legs up too.

"Donna. I've told her about you, and she can't wait to meet you." He said.

"Then why the warning?" I asked him, confused.

"Because she can be very lively, I didn't want her to intimidate you."

"Donna." I said, smiling at him.

"What?" A ginger lady asked, walking through the doors. "Who the hell are you?" She asked, pointing to me. My eyebrows rose.

"You didn't explain to her what I look like?" I demanded.

"I described you as I last saw you, and you looked different then!" He exclaimed.

"I'd opened the fob watch?" I asked, and he nodded. I smiled to myself. He described what I looked like as Time Lord. Or would it be Time Lady? Time Lady sounds better.

"Why are you ignoring me? Who is she?" Donna asked again, storming up to the Doctor.

"Donna Noble, meet Eleanor Thorn." The Doctor said, smiling a little and waving his arms to each of us. Donna squealed and grinned at me, I grinned back and she ran up to me and threw her arms around me.

"You're Eleanor? El? Ellie?" She asked, grinning.

"The very same." I replied, not quite knowing what to do. The Doctor looked at me in an 'I told you so' way, I stuck my tongue out at him; which caused him to snort.

"You're so different that I expected. I thought you'd be all geeky like Space Boy over there. But you're not, you're like a cool Time Lord." She exclaimed, pointing to my vest and shorts. I smiled.

"I'm technically only half and half." I explained, and she nodded her head.

"Right!" The exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Where are we going to go?" He asked.

3RD PERSON

A spotlight switched on and stood there, was the Ood.

"The Ood. They came from distant world. They voyaged across the stars, all with one purpose." An advertisement said. The Ood held out a teacup.

"Do you take milk and sugar?" The Ood asked, in the advert.

"To serve." The advertisement said.

A business man smiled as he watched the advert. "That's good, that's excellent. I like it sir. Buy one now! Direct. Straight to the point."

"We play that across the tri-galactic for two weeks, then introduce this." A voice on an intercom said.

"Now only 50 credits!" The advert continued.

"50? We're reducing the price to 50 credits?" The business man asked, squinting a little.

"Sales are down. We've got to reposition ourselves. So get it going." The man on the intercom demanded. The communicator beeps.

"Idiot! Bleeding us dry!" The man exclaimed, and turned to an Ood stood behind him. "You there. Get me last month's military export figures. The army always needs more grunts." He said.

"Yes sir." The Ood said, and bowed to him.

"Mr Bartle, you asked me to call you." A different voice said, on the intercom.

"Solana, when those buyers arrive we're going to pitch like never before. I want those Ood flying out of here." Mr Bartle told Solana.

The Ood handed Mr Bartle a folder.

"That... I said military figures. That's the domestic files. Get me the military." Mr Bartle said to the Ood. The Ood's eyes glowed red.

"The file is irrelevant, sir." The Ood said.

"Oh, why's that?" Mr Bartle said, turning on the Ood.

The Ood thrust out his translator ball and electrocuted Mr Bartle.

"Have a nice day." The Ood said.

*

"Set the controls to random. Mystery tour. Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, anywhen in the whole wide... are you all right?" The Doctor asked, noticing Donna's scared face. Seconds before, they had all been shouting and screaming, clinging on to the Tardis as she rocked, with only El and the Doctor laughing.

"Terrified. I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet!" Donna exclaimed.

"I could always take you home." The Doctor said.

"Yeah, don't laugh at me." Donna said.

"I know what it's like. Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder, I get that!" The Doctor said, smiling.

"I definitely get that." Eleanor said, and Donna smiled her way.

"Seriously, after all this time?" Donna asked.

"Yeah." El said.

"Why do you think I keep going?" The Doctor explained.

"Oh! All right then, you and me both! This is barmy! I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever done package holidays. And now I'm here. This is so... I mean it's... I don't know, it's all sort of, I don't know what the word is!" Donna exclaimed.

She went and opened the Tardis door, showing us the snow outside. Eleanor followed and jumped straight back in.

"I've got the word. Freezing." Donna complained. The Doctor walked out of the Tardis.

"Snow! Aw, real snow. Eleanor, you should be appreciating this, the amount of times you complain about snow. Proper snow at last! That's more like it, lovely. What do you think?" The Doctor asked.

"Bit cold." Donna said.

"Absolutely freezing." Eleanor groaned.

"Look at that view!" The Doctor said, grinning.

"Yep. Beautiful, cold view." Donna said, and Eleanor chuckled a little.

"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies and we re on this one. Molto bene! Belissimo! Says Donna. Born in Chiswick. All you ve got is a life of work and sleep, and telly and rent and tax and takeaway dinners, all... birthdays and Christmases and two weeks holiday here, and then you end up here! Donna Noble. Citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How bout that Donna" The Doctor said... to nobody.

"Donna? Eleanor?" The Doctor shouted, his voice sounding more frantic when he shouted 'Eleanor.'

Eleanor came out first, in a fluffy, dark green parka with a fur hood. Donna followed in a big puffy coat, with the hood up.

"Sorry honey." Eleanor said, patting his head a little.

"Sorry, you were saying?" Donna asked.

"Better?" The Doctor asked sarcastically.

"Lovely, thanks." Donna said.

"Comfy?" He asked.

"Totally." Eleanor said.

"Can you hear anything inside that?" The Doctor asked Donna.

"Pardon?" Donna asked.

"All right. I was saying, citizen of Earth..." The Doctor started.

They all looked up to see a large rocket overhead.

"Rocket! Blimey, a real proper rocket. Now that's what I call a spaceship. You've got a box; he's got a Ferrari! Come on, let's go see where it's going!" Donna exclaimed.

The Doctor gazed at his Tardis, and Eleanor stroked the door gently.

"She didn't mean it." She cooed, and linked the Doctor's arm, pulling him away.

Outside a factory, the people left the rocket and walked up to the people from the building.

"Mr Halpen, sir. Dr Ryder, new head of Ood management." Dr Ryder said.

"How many dead? Come on, facts and figures. I haven't flown all this way to discuss the weather, which by the way, is freezing." The man from the intercom, Mr Halpen, said.

"Solana has the figures, sir." Dr Ryder said.

"Solana Mercurio, sir. Head of Marketing and Galactic Liason." Solana said, smiling.

"That's just what I need. A PR woman. I don't want a word of this getting out, is that understood? Now, get to the point. How many dead?" Mr Halpen asked. They all walked into the building.

"In the past financial quarter we've had three deaths in the complex. All attributed to heart attacks or industrial accidents, but now we've captured this on tape, the cause would seem the same." Solana explained. They walked up to a screen which showed the Ood electrocuting Mr Bartle.

"It's using the translator ball as a weapon, how's that work?" Mr Halpen asked.

"Well, no idea. I'm checking the equipment, nothing so far." Dr Ryder said.

"Can't see it's eyes from this angle." Mr Halpen pointed out.

"I think we have to assume..." Dr Ryden said.

"Red-eye." Mr Halpen said.

"I think so sir." Dr Ryden confirmed.

"That Ood, what happened to it?"

"Oh, ran for the wild sir. Like a dog. One of the guards fired off a shot. It'll be dead now." Dr Ryden said.

"Can I ask? What's 'red-eye' sir?" Solana asked.

"Well, it's some sort of infection. The Ood's eyes literally change colour." Dr Ryder explained.

"Drink!" Mr Halpen demanded.

"I can't find the source, all the bacteria scans register negative."

Mr Halpen's Ood hands him a drink.

"Sorry, but according to your own rules sir, there's no alcohol allowed on base." Solana reminded him.

"It's hair tonic if you must know. Five years ago I had a full head of hair, stress. That's what this is. Stress." Mr Halpen said, drinking the tonic.

Meanwhile, Eleanor, the Doctor and Donna were laughing whilst walking through the snow. Suddenly, Eleanor and the Doctor stopped after hearing odd music.

"Hold on, you hear that?" The Doctor asked.

"I can." Eleanor said, closing her eyes.

"Donna, take down your hood!" The Doctor shouted. Donna did it.

"What?" She asked.

"That noise is like a song." The Doctor said.

"It is a song." Eleanor said, a tear dribbling down her cheek. The Doctor walked in front of her and wiped the tear away. He bent down and kissed her nose.

"It's Ok." He said.

"It's not though, is it? I'll be able to hear it all the time when I'm a full Time Lady, won't I?" Eleanor asked.

"Time Lady? Oh, so you're allocating yourself a title now, are you?" He asked.

"You did!" Eleanor exclaimed through her tears. "Got a problem with that?" She said, smiling.

The Doctor smiled and weaved his fingers through hers. Donna coughed, and Eleanor shook her head.

"Where's it coming from?" The Doctor pondered, oblivious to Donna's suggestive smile. "Over there! " He exclaimed, dragging Eleanor and Donna over to a body on the floor.

"What is it?" Donna asked, looking disgusted.

"An Ood. He's called an Ood." Eleanor said.

"But it's face..." Donna trailed off, scrunching her nose up.

"Donna, don't. Not now. It's a he, not an it. Give me a hand." The Doctor said.

"Sorry!" She exclaimed.

She knelt beside Eleanor, the Doctor and the Ood. The Doctor examined the Ood with his stethoscope.

"I don't know where the heart it, I don't know if he's got a heart. Talk to him, keep him going." The Doctor asked.

"Hey there, it's going to be alright." Eleanor cooed.

"It's all right, we've got you. What's your name?" Donna asked.

"Designated Ood Delta 500." The Ood said, weakly.

Donna picked up the translator ball and used it like a microphone.

"My name's Donna, and this is Eleanor. She's the Doctor's girlfriend." Donna joked. Eleanor slapped her friends arm and smirked at the microphone thing.

"No, no, no, no. You don't need to..." The Doctor said.

"Sorry." Donna said. Eleanor knew what to do. She lent down into the Ood's ear and started to hum beautiful lullabies in Gallifreyan. The Doctor looked up at her immediately, and smiled gently.

"Talk over that, it will just comfort him." The Doctor told Donna.

"What is that?" Donna asked.

"A lullaby in our language." The Doctor explained.

"I thought the Tardis translated everything?" She asked.

"Our language is know by one person... two people." The Doctor amended. "And it's so old, older than me even." The Doctor said. "Now talk to it!"

"This is the Doctor! Just what you need, a doctor. Couldn't be better, hey?" Donna asked.

"You've been shot." The Doctor stated.

"The circle..." Delta 50 started.

"No, don't try to talk." Donna said, comforting him. Eleanor continued to hum the lullaby.

"The circle must be broken." Delta 50 said.

"Circle? What dya mean? Delta 50, what circle? Delta 50? What circle?" The Doctor demanded.

Suddenly, Delta 50 bolted upright and roared, his eyes glowing red. He collapsed back on the ground, dead. Eleanor had jumped a large amount back in shock, and she crawled back over.

"He's gone." Donna said. She too crawled over to Delta 50 and knelt beside him.

"Careful." The Doctor warned.

"There you go sweet heart. We were too late. What do we do, do we bury him?" Donna asked, stroking the Ood's head.

"The snow will take care of that." Eleanor said.

"Who was he? What's an Ood?" Donna asked.

"They're servants, of humans in the 42nd century. Mildly telepathic, that was the song. It's his mind calling out." The Doctor said, and grabbed Eleanor's hand, comforting her.

"Couldn't hear anything." Donna said, and stood up. "He sang as he was dying." She muttered.

"His eyes turned red." Eleanor pointed out.

"What's that mean?" Donna asked.

"Trouble, come on." The Doctor said.


	18. A Bleak Future

DoctorBellaMortLock that review actually made me go 'aww!'. Thank for your support, it means a lot :) -Fay x ELEANOR

The Doctor led us away from the Ood. "The Ood are harmless. They're completely benign. Except, the last time I met them, there was this force, like a... stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over." The Doctor said.

"What sort of force?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, long story." The Doctor said.

"Long walk." Donna retorted.

"It was the Devil." The Doctor replied, and my eyes widened.

"If you're gonna take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up." Donna growled.

"Surely, you don't really believe that?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.

"It made me question everything I believe in, and I'm still not sure." The Doctor said.

"Must be something different this time, though. Something closer to home." The Doctor muttered. He led us over rocks, and behind them was a large building.

"Aha! Civilisation!" The Doctor called.

3RD PERSON

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ood-sphere. And isn't it bracing? Here are your information packs, with vouchers, 3D tickets and a map of the complex. My name's Solana, head of marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vidfone. Now, if you'd like to follow me." Solana said, and the Doctor and El came sprinting over, followed by a lagging Donna.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! Late, don't mind us. Hello! The guards let us through." The Doctor explained.

"And you would be?" Solana asked. The Doctor displayed the psychic paper.

"The Doctor, Eleanor and Donna Noble." The Doctor said.

"She's your child?" Solana asked, pointing to Eleanor, who glared at Solana.

"No no no. She's his girlfriend." Donna said, winking. The Doctor sighed, as did Eleanor. "Sort of." Donna amended. "Representing the Noble Corporation PLC Limited, Intergalactic." Donna finished.

"Must have fallen off my list, my apologies. Won't happen again. Now then, Dr Noble, Miss... something, Mrs Noble, if you'd like to come with me." Solana said.

"Girlfriend?" The Doctor mouthed to Donna.

"Well you are, it's just in her future." Donna mouthed back, and the Doctor sighed and stared after his soul mate, who was currently bounding ahead and chatting to Solana. Solana turned around, as did Eleanor.

"Here are your information packs, vouchers inside. Now if you'd like to come with me, the Executive Suites are nice and warm." Solana promised, smiling.

An alarm wailed, causing Eleanor to jump. The Doctor smirked at her and nudged her. Donna smiled to herself.

"Oh, what's that? That sounds like an alarm." The Doctor said.

Meanwhile, in Mr Halpen's office, he too can hear it.

"For God's sake! We've got the buyers arriving, who sounded the alarm? Drink!" He demanded.

"Oh, it's just a...siren. For the end of the work shift. Now then, this way, quick as you can!" Solana said, grimacing a little.

Meanwhile, in Mr Halpen's office, he was on the intercom. "Mr Kess, what the hell's going on?" He demanded.

"Ood on the loose, sir. Looks like we've got another one." Mr Kess replied.

"Rey Eye?" Mr Halpen asked.

"As red as sin, sir. Don't worry, Mr Halpen, we're on it." Mr Kess said. Mr Kess watched as the Ood ran across the yard.

"Sir!" A guard shouted.

"All right then, lads, go get him!" Mr Kess ordered.

*

"As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve, and we keep them in facilities of the highest standard. Here at Double O- that's Ood Operations- we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends." Solana said, in front of a huge screen. Eleanor was glaring at the screen. The Doctor was watching her.

"What?" He whispered.

"It's disgusting." Eleanor ranted.

"I know." He said, taking her hand and squeezing it.

Back in the yard, guards were chasing the Ood... with massive guns.

"He's over there, you two follow me!" Mr Kess shouted.

"We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated." Solana continued. Eleanor looked away.

"Take him alive!" Mr Kess yelled.

"We don't just breed the Ood, we make them better, Because at heart, what is an Ood, but a reflection of us? If your Ood is happy, then you'll be happy too." Solana said, grinning at the reps in the room.

The Ood turned to the guards, with his red eyes, growling at them.

"Mr Halpen, this is a bit more than red-eye sir. This is something new, it's rabid, sir." Mr Kess said into his intercom.

"Take it to Dr Ryder, just get it out of sight!" Mr Halpen exclaimed. On the overhead intercom, a voice said. "Sales figures needed by 19,00 sir."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Mr Halpen muttered, getting up from his desk and moving over to the mirror. He checked his hair.

"What do you think? Growing back? Just a little bit?" He asked his Ood. "Like you'd know!" He shouted.

"I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations. We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You now have the standard setting." Solana said, and moved to an Ood. "How are you today, Ood?" She asked.

"I'm perfectly well, thank you." The Ood replied, in it's normal voice.

"Or perhaps, after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen." Solana said, and moved to a different Ood. "And how are you, Ood?"

"All the better for seeing you." The Ood replied, in a sexy voice. Eleanor growled under her breathe.

"So they manipulate what they say now?" She asked. The Doctor rubbed circles on her hand, trying to calm her down.

"And the classic comedy option." Solana said, and moved to the third Ood. "Ood, you dropped something."

"Doh!" The Ood said, in a Homer Simpson voice. The reps laughed, Donna smirked and Eleanor glared.

"What has the human race come to?" Eleanor whispered. "It's like the slave trade all over again."

"All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so, don't hold back." Solana said. She left the room and the Doctor took Eleanor to the control board. He brought up a picture of the solar system.

"Ah, got it! The Ood-Sphere, I've been to this solar system before, years ago, ages!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Close to the planet Sense-Sphere. Let's widen out." He said, and the picture changed. "The year 4126. That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."

"4126. It's 4126. I'm in 4126." Donna marvelled, Eleanor smiled a little, fondly.

"It's good, isn't it?" The Doctor asked, grinning.

"Can't think of anything more dazzling." Eleanor said.

"What's the Earth like now?" Donna asked.

"Bit full." Eleanor said, leaning on the Doctor a little. He looked down at her for a second before looking back at Donna.

"But you see, the Empire stretches out across three galaxies." He said.

"It's weird, I mean, it's brilliant. But... back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live. Global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing." Donna rambled.

"Yeah, that thing about the bees is odd." Eleanor muttered.

"But look at us! We're everywhere! Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers? Or more like a virus?"

"Sometimes I wonder." The Doctor said, looking at Eleanor.

"What are the red dots?" Donna asked, referring to the picture.

"Ood distribution centres." El said.

"Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" Donna asked.

"Of course they don't." Eleanor said fiercely. Donna walked over to the closest Ood.

"Why are you so passionate about Ood rights?" The Doctor asked Eleanor.

"What morally and ethically correct person wouldn't be?" Eleanor retorted.

"Exactly my point." The Doctor said. "I try not to let it bother me." He said, brushing a copper curl out of her eyes. Eleanor only then realised just how close she and the Doctor were. She also noticed how he was staring intently at her lips. He moved his head down, and she moved hers up and they met in a fiery explosion of newness.

She had kissed Eleven before, but never Ten. He was even taller than Eleven, and so she had to stand on her tiptoes, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up to him even more. She did something she'd wanted to do for a while, she tangled her hands in his gorgeous mess of hair, and pulled his even closer.

"Um, sorry, but..." Donna said to an Ood, oblivious of the kiss behind her. The Ood didn't notice her, so she touched his shoulder.

"Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?" She asked.

"I do not understand, Miss." The Ood replied.

"Why do you say "Miss", do I look single?" Donna demanded.

Eleanor pulled away first, and blushed as she noticed his eyes were still closed and her hands in his hair. She untangled herself. He opened his eyes and looked distant, his hair even more in a mess and his face sublimely happy looking.

"What was that for?" Eleanor asked, smiling to herself.

"No reason." He said, in a high pitched voice, and watched as she left. Eleanor caught the last few seconds of Donna speaking.

"Back to the point." She said.

"Yeah. What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there Ood running wild somewhere? Like wood beast."

"All Ood are born to serve. Otherwise, we would die." The Ood replied.

"But you can't have started like that. Before the humans, what were you like?" Donna asked.

Eleanor smiled slightly as she felt the Doctor's hand on the small of her back, and lent into it.

"The circle." The Ood said, sounding confused. Eleanor could feel the Doctor tense up.

"What do you mean, what circle?" He asked.

"The circ... the circle... is..." The Ood struggled.

"Ladies and gentlemen! All Ood to hospitality stations, please." Solana said, panicked.

"I've had enough of the shmoozing. Do you fancy going off the beaten track?" The Doctor asked the ladies. Donna smiled.

"Definitely." Eleanor muttered, wanting to get away from the slavery of the Ood.

"Rough guide to the Ood-Sphere? Works for me!" Donna said.

"Isn't it?" The Doctor said.

*

Mr Halpen and Dr Ryder were in a dark room, with rabid Ood chained up, still raging and growling, with two armed men guarding him.

"What the hell is wrong with it?" Mr Halpen demanded.

"It's obviously stage two of red-eye, whatever that means." Dr Ryder explained.

"Ood Sigma, have you seen this before?" Mr Halpen asked.

"Humanity defies us, sir. We look to you for answers." Ood Sigma replied.

"Oh, fat lot of good, all of you. We're exporting hundreds of thousands of Ood to all the civilised planets. If they turn rabid, you know what it'll mean." Mr Halpen said.

"There's only one thing I haven't checked, sir. Warehouse 15." Dr Ryder said.

"Why should that cause trouble? It's been two centuries now. No change, not ever. Drink!" Mr Halpen demanded.

"I know it's restricted access, but if I'm going to work on this, I should see it. Just in case." Dr Ryder explained.

"Can't stand the place." Mr Halpen said, downing his drink. "Still, Warehouse 15 then, come on." He finished.

"What about this one, sir?" Dr Ryder asked, referring to the Ood.

"Well, I'd suggest a post mortem. Which means it's got to be dead first." Mr Halpen said, leaving with Dr Ryder.

The guards started shooting.

*

The Doctor was sonicing a fence to open it.

"Ood shift eight, now commencing. Repeat, Ood shift eight now commencing." A loudspeaker said. The Ood marched through the yard like prisoners. One of them fell to the ground. Mr Kess ran to him.

"Get up! I said get up!" Mr Kess screamed, whipping the Ood until it could get up. The Doctor turned to Eleanor and placed a hand on her mouth, hushing her shouting, and pulled her face into his chest, hugging her head. He stepped back when she had stopped shouting obscenities, and she turned to Donna. Donna smiled reassuringly, but waveringly, and rubbed Eleanor's arm.

"Servants? They're slaves." Donna said, disgusted.

"Get up! March!" Mr Kess ordered. Eleanor leant on a wall, crossing her arms and placing one leg on the wall.

"Last time I met the Ood, I never thought. I never asked." The Doctor said.

"That's not like you." Donna said.

"I was busy. So busy I couldn't save them, I had to let the Ood die. I reckon I owe them one." The Doctor said, sadly.

Mr Halpen, Mr Ryder, Sigma and some guards crossed the now empty yard.

"That looks like the boss." Donna pointed out.

"Let's keep out of his way. Come on." He said, linking Eleanor's arm and taking her with them.

"How long since you went inside?" Dr Ryder asked.

"Must be... ten years ago." Mr Halpen replied, typing a code to open the door.

"Warehouse 15." The computer said.

"My father brought me here, when I was six years old." Mr Halpen muttered.

"Security protocol initiated." The computer said.

"God, the stench of it." Mr Halpen moaned.

"Warehouse 15, door open." The computer said.

They went inside and stopped at a fence and looked down at something below.

"Incredible." Dr Ryder said.

"Like I said, nothing's changed." Mr Halpen said,

"I've read the documents, but... it doesn't quite prepare you." Dr Ryder replied.

"Is it just me, or does it feel as if it's looking at you?" Mr Halpen asked.

"I think I understand the barrier mechanics well enough. I'll check the signal." He went to the controls.

"Suppose it's home sweet home to you. What dya think?" Mr Halpen asked Ood Sigma.

"I have no opinion, sir." Sigma replied.

"Well.. say hello to Daddy." Mr Halpen replied, sarcastically.

"Nothing. The barrier's intact. No abnormal signal. Same as it's been for 200 years." Dr Ryder said.

"Mr Halpen, the two people from the Noble Corporation failed to pass security checks. There's no such company, the Noble Corporation doesn't exist. And on top of that, they seem to have gone missing, sir. The Doctor, Eleanor and Miss Noble." Solana said, on the intercom.

"Just what I need. Start a search, no alarms. Got that? Keep it quiet." Mr Halpen replied. "You see? Hair loss! Drink!" He said to Ood Sigma. Sigma handed him the glass. He picked it up and raised to the thing below.

"Tell you what, old friend. Have this one on me. Cheers!" He said, and poured the drink below, evoking a growl. "I think we're finished here."

He turned to leave, and Dr Ryder followed. He bumped into Ood Sigma.

"Sorry." He said to Sigma. Sigma took one last look at the thing below before following them out.

*

The Doctor and Eleanor were looking intently at a map. They walked past a door. Donna whistled loudly, causing Eleanor to jump and cling onto the Doctor, who also jumped.

"Where d'you learn to whistle?" He asked.

"West Ham, every Saturday." She said, smugly. They walked over to Donna and the Doctor used the sonic to open the door. It led to a hangar, filled with boxes. Containers, even. Overhead was a claw transporting the containers.

"Ood export. D'you see? Lifts up the containers. Takes them to the rocket sheds, ready to be flown out, all over the three galaxies." The Doctor explained, pointing to the claw.

"What, you mean, these containers are full of...?" Donna started.

"What do you think?" The Doctor asked, glaring at the containers.

"How humane." Eleanor said, looking around sadly.

He opened a container up. It was full of Ood, simply standing there.

"Oh, it stinks! How many of them d'you think there are in each one?" Donna asked, horrified.

"Hundred?" Eleanor guessed.

"More." The Doctor replied.

"A great empire, built on slavery." Donna said, sadly. Eleanor looked at the floor.

"It's not so different from your time." The Doctor replied. Eleanor's head snapped up.

"Oi! I haven't got slaves!" Donna shouted. Eleanor turned to the Doctor, looking sad. She nodded.

"Who dya think made your clothes?" The Doctor asked Donna.

"Is that why you travel round with humans at your side? It's not so you can show them the wonders of the universe, it's so you can take cheap shots?" Donna demanded.

"Sorry." The Doctor said.

"You don't. Spaceman." Donna said, smiling slightly. Very slightly. "I don't understand, the door is open, why don't you just run away?" Donna asked the Ood.

"For what reason?" The Ood asked.

"You could be free. Escape slavery. Find yourselves. Find meaning in the universe." Eleanor said.

"I do not understand the concept of 'freedom'." The Ood replied.

"What is it with that Persil ball? I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do you have to be all plugged in?" Donna asked.

"Ood, tell me, does 'the circle' mean anything to you?" The Doctor asked.

"The circle must be broken." All of the Ood said at once. Eleanor stepped back a little.

"Woah, that is creepy!" Donna exclaimed.

"But what is it? What is the circle?" The Doctor asked.

"The circle must be broken."

"You're right, that is really creepy." Eleanor said.

"Why?" The Doctor asked.

"So that we can sing." The Ood said. Eleanor whimpered a little.


	19. The Song of Captivity

"Mr Halpen? I'm in Ood cargo, I've found your unwanted guests." Mr Kess said. "Go!" He said to his guards. An alarm sounded.

"Oh, that's us! Come on!" The Doctor yelled, grabbing Eleanor and Donna's hands.

"Cut the alarms! I said, no alarms!" Mr Halpen yelled.

ELEANOR

We ran between the containers, and the smell was making it rather hard to concentrate on what was going on. Luckily, I had my Doctor's hand in mine; guiding me.

"Doctor, there's a door!" Donna exclaimed. We started to move towards it, but guards rushed out, carrying bad ass guns. I squeaked as the Doctor tugged us away. "Don't move..." A guard said, they had cornered the Doctor and I, still hand in hand. Donna wasn't with us.

"Where've you gone?" The Doctor yelled. We had to keep running, as the guards were right on our heels.

"Stay where you are!" A guard yelled, and we ran faster. My heart was pounding, and I stared at the Doctor's intent face and it relaxed me ever so slightly.

"Donna!" I yelled. "Where are you?"

We continued to run past the myriad of containers, weaving our way, trying to find Donna.

"Doctor." I said, and pointed at the huge claw above us. It was moving; trying to kill us. We were losing, badly. We were not only slowing down, but the claw was speeding up. The Doctor fell to the floor, pulling me with us. We were both panting, and I squeezed my eyes shut and felt around for his hand when I saw the claw coming down to us. It stopped seconds before crushing us.

I opened my eyes to find the Doctor stood up. He bent down to help me up. A group of guards grabbed us and pushed us towards the exit.

"Doctor, get me out! Doctor, get me out of here!" Donna yelled. "Eleanor! Please!"

"If you don't do what she says then you're really in trouble. Not from us, but from her." The Doctor said, and I nodded along with him.

"Unlock the container." Mr Kess said. They opened the door to the container were Donna had been roughly shoved in, and she fell into my arms. I hugged her before she pounced on the Doctor, hugging him too.

"Doctor!" She called.

"There we go, safe and sound."

"Never mind about me, what about them?" She said, pointing at the Ood. They were marching out of the container. One of them electrocuted a guard. I gasped.

"Red alert! Fire!" Mr Kess ordered. I hissed through my teeth. More containers opened and more red-eye Ood's piled out, attacking guards.

"Shoot to kill!" Mr Kess shouted. The guards began shooting. The Doctor back up a little, I followed and I also grabbed Donna's hand, pulling her back too. When we were a little bit out the way, we ran out of the building. I heard panting behind me and saw Solana. After a while, we stopped outside.

"If people back on Earth... knew what was going on here..." Donna panted.

"Oh don't be stupid. Of course they know." Solana gasped.

"They know how you treat the Ood?" Donna demanded.

"They don't ask. Same thing." Solana amended.

"Pathetic." I spat.

"Solana, the Ood aren't born like this, they can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?" The Doctor asked.

"That's nothing to do with me!" Solana exclaimed.

"Oh what? 'Cause you don't ask?" I hissed.

"That's Dr Ryder's territory." She insisted.

"I hope you're happy with yourself." I said.

"Where is Dr Ryder? What part of the complex? We could help, with the red-eye, now show me!" The Doctor shouted, like an oncoming storm.

"There. Beyond the red section." Solana said, pointing to a map.

"Come with me. You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me, you could help." The Doctor bargained, I shook my head and my nostrils flared.

"They're over here! Guards! They're over here!" Solana yelled.

"You bastard." I spat, and pushed her out the way as we ran off.

"Male and female suspects escaped. Westridge corridor." A guard said, behind us.

3RD PERSON

"Mr Halpen, I found the Doctor, he's heading for Ood Conversion." Solana grassed.

"On my way." Mr Halpen said. "Mr Kess, what's the situation?"

"We've contained it, sir, fenced them in. But the red-eye seems to be permanent this time, it's not fading. Worse than that., sir... there's more of them going rabid. My opinion, sir, I think we've lost the, The entire batch contaminated." Mr Kess said, over the intercom.

"What's causing it? Why now? What's changed?" Mr Halpen asked. He stroked his head and looked shocked at the hair that had come off into his hand. "How many Ood, in total?" He asked.

"I'd say about 2000, sir." Mr Kess replied.

"We can write them off, that's what insurance is for. Drink!" He shouted. "We've plenty more on the breeding farms, let's start again." He downed his drink. "Fetch the canisters. No survivors."

"My pleasure sir. You lot- canisters!" Mr Kess ordered.

ELEANOR

The Doctor, Donna, and I were running from the guards. "This way!" He yelled. We arrived at another door.

"Oh, can you hear it? I didn't need the map, I should've listened." He reprimanded. We went inside the door and he locked it with his sonic.

"Hold on, does that mean we're locked in?" Donna asked.

"Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen." The Doctor hushed.

"Oh, God. My head." I moaned.

"Oh, my head!" The Doctor said.

They could hear the singing again, it was eerie and so soul crushingly sad.

"What is it?" Donna asked.

"Can't you hear it? The singing?" The Doctor asked. A tear slid again down my face. We turned around and saw a cage with a number of shy Ood inside, they were trying to hide from us.

"They look different to the others." Donna noticed.

"That's because they're natural born Ood. Unprocessed. Before they're adapted to slavery. Unspoilt." I said sadly, moving towards them. The Doctor and Donna followed me.

"That's their song." I muttered.

"I can't hear it." Donna said.

"Do you want to?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah." She replied.

"It's the song of captivity." I said, another tear sliding down my face and a sob erupting from my lungs.

"Let me hear it." Donna confirmed.

"Face me." The Doctor said, and put his hands to her head. "Open your mind. That's it. Hear it, Donna. Hear the music."

Donna looked at them, and then at me and started to cry too. I pulled her into my arms and we hugged for a second before she pulled away.

"Take it away!" She choked.

"Sure?" Doctor asked.

"I can't bear it." She gasped. He put his hands on her head again, and stopped her from hearing their singing.

"I'm sorry." Donna said.

"It's fine!" I insisted.

"It's OK." The Doctor said, at the same time.

"But can you two still hear it?" She asked. I nodded.

"All the time." He replied.

"And when you're a proper Time Lord, you will too, won't you?" She asked me. I nodded again. The Doctor moved to open the cage with his sonic. We could hear thuds outside, people trying to get into the door.

"They're breaking in." Donna said.

"Ah, let them." The Doctor replied. I lent heavily on the cage, trying to block out the song.

He walked into the cage and I followed. The Ood moved away from us.

"What are you holding?" I asked gently. "Show me. Friend. Doctor, Donna, Eleanor. Friend." I assured them. "Let me see... Look at me... Let me see." I muttered. One of the Ood moved closer to me. The Doctor placed a hand on the small of my back. "That's it. That's it, go on. Go on..."

The Ood opened his palm and showed me the small brain in his hand.

"Aw." I said, seeing how helpless the Ood looked. "It's Ok." I said, smiling.

"Is that...?" Donna asked.

"It's a brain, a hind brain. The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans, it processes memory and emotions. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna anymore. You'd be like an Ood, a processed Ood." The Doctor said.

"So the company... cuts off their brains?" She asked, shocked.

"And they stitch on the translator!" The Doctor said, angry.

"Like a lobotomy. I spent all that time looking for you, Doctor, because I thought it would be so wonderful out here... I want to go home." She whispered, crying. I started crying too, my emotions taking over. I could hear their song AND I had to process this information. Finally, the door opened.

"They're with the Ood sir." A guard said. The Doctor closed the cage door and locked us in.

"What you gonna do, then? Arrest me? Lock me up? Throw me in a cage? Well you're too late! Hah!" He shouted.

*

We were handcuffed to pipes. We'd been arrested and locked up.

"It's not my fault." He whispered to me.

"Why don't you just come out and say it? FOTO activists!" Mr Halpen shouted at us. I rolled my eyes and repeatedly poked the Doctor, trying to annoy me. Instead, he grabbed my hand and held it.

"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, yes!" He stressed.

"The Ood were nothing without us, just animals roaming around on the ice." Mr Halpen said.

"That's because you can't hear them!" I shouted.

"They welcomed it! It's not as if they put up a fight!" Halpen shouted back, bending down and leaning right into my face.

"You stay away from her." The Doctor warned.

"Thought as much, I could sense your bond. I can feel it." Halpen said. WHAT.

"You idiot! They're born with their brains in their hands. Don't you see, that makes them peaceful! They've got to be, cos a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets." Donna said. I grinned.

"Oh, nice one." The Doctor confirmed, nodding his head and smiling too.

"Thank you!" Donna exclaimed.

"The system's worked for 200 years. All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilised." Halpen said. "Mr Kess? How do we stand?" He asked, into his intercom.

"Canisters primed, sir. As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks and counting."Mr Kess said.

"You're gonna gas them?" I demanded.

"Kill the livestock. The classic foot and mouth solution from the olden days. Still works." Halpen retorted. The normal Ood and the red-eye Ood lifted their palms up and started to sing. I closed my eyes.

3RD PERSON

"I'm sorry, if I could ask you one more time, could all the reps please come through to the Education Suites." Solana said, talking to the reps.

"Why move now? It's a free bar!" A rep said, drunk.

"Could I ask all the Ood to withdraw, it's feeding time." Solana said.

The Oods heard the singing and cowered down, as if in pain.

"Aw! You've upset them! Leave them alone!" The rep said, jokingly.

"I have to insist. If all the Ood could please leave..." Solana asked.

The Ood looked up, all with red-eye.

"Ladies and gentlemen, change of plan. If you could leave by the fire exits.." Solana said, terrified.

"I could sell this, you could offer different colours!" The rep said. An Ood electrocuted him and other reps. Solana sprinted out into the yard, only to find more red-eyes and guards trying to fight them off.

"They've gone insane, Miss, they've gone mad! All of them!" A guard shouted.

"Just shoot them, shoot to kill!" Solana shouted back. She tried to back off and leave, but got electrocuted by an Ood behind her. An alarm sounded.

"What the hell?" Mr Halpen asked. Dr Ryder and he left to see what was happening.

"What's going on here?" Mr Kess asked, in the cargo hall with containers.

The door opened and a red-eye entered the hangar.

"Emergency status. Emergency status. All exits sealed." A computer said.

"It's a revolution." Mr Ryder said. Out in the yard, loads of people were fighting off the Ood. Sigma looked back at his brothers, but followed Mr Halpen.

"Come back! Let me out of here!" Mr Kess called.

The Ood locked him in with no gas mask, and he choked to death when the canister went off.

ELEANOR

Halpen and Dr Ryder ran into the room.

"Change of plan." Halpen said.

"There are no reports of trouble off world, sir. It's still contained to the Ood-Sphere." Ryder said.

"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads." Halpen said.

"What's happening?" The Doctor asked.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor. No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilised, so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood." Halpen said.

"But Mr Halpen, there's something else isn't there? Something we haven't seen?" Doctor asked.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked.

"A creature couldn't survive with a separate fore brain and hind brain, they'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else, a third element, am I right?" The Doctor asked.

"Rightio." I replied.

"And again, so clever!" Halpen said.

"But it's got to be connected to the red-eye, what is it?" Doctor asked.

"'It' won't exist for much longer, enjoy your Ood." Halpen said to us and left with Ryder, Sigma and two guards. I sighed as we tried to get free.

"Come on!" The Doctor encouraged. 


	20. Interruptions

I'm so sorry; I know that this must be a bit boring. The interesting bit will be in the next few chapters to make up for it :) -Fay

"Dr Ryder, Warehouse 15." Mr Halpen said.

"Well, what about this one?" Dr Ryder said, pointing to Sigma.

"No. You've not turned. Faithful to the last. Go, join your people, while you still can." Mr Halpen said. They bowed to each other, and Sigma left.

"Come on!" Mr Halpen exclaimed, to Dr Ryder.

*

"Well do something! You're the one with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!" Donna exclaimed, as they tried to break their handcuffs.

"There are really good handcuffs!" The Doctor defended, straining against the binds.

"Oh, well I'm glad of that. I mean, at least we've got quality!" Donna exclaimed, and Eleanor guffawed.

The door opened and Eleanor tensed. Three red-eye Ood's walked into the room.

"Doctor, Donna, Eleanor, friends." The Doctor said, referring to earlier in the cage.

"The circle must be broken!" Eleanor shouted.

"Doctor, Donna, Eleanor, friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

"Doctor, Donna, Eleanor, friends!"

The red-eyes were still moving towards them. They stopped and lifted their palms, after hearing the Ood in the cage through their telepathic links. The Ood in the cage had sent a message to the three Ood. They bowed their heads. They looked back up and their eyes were back to normal.

"Oh thank God." Eleanor sighed.

"Doctor. Donna. Eleanor. Friends." An Ood said.

"Yes! That's us! Friends! Oh yes!" The Doctor and Donna exclaimed.

*

A rabid Ood jumped onto a guard. Dr Ryder strained to help, but Mr Halpen pulled him back.

"No! Leave him!"

The Doctor, Donna and Eleanor looked around the yard at the battlefield full of destruction before them.

"I don't know where it is! I don't know where they've gone!" The Doctor shouted.

"What are we looking for?" Donna asked.

"Might be underground, like some sort of cave, or a cavern, or..." Eleanor trailed off. She was watching Dr Ryder and Mr Halpen open the door to Warehouse 15 and go inside.

All of a sudden, the trio were thrown to the ground in an explosion.

"All right? Eleanor, are you all right?" The Doctor demanded. Eleanor nodded and dusted herself down.

"Yeah, fine. Thanks for asking. Good to know you care about me, too." Donna complained.

"Are you Ok?" the Doctor asked her. She nodded sourly.

The three looked up to see Ood Sigma watching.

"It's always been an option, my grandfather drew up this plan. That's the advantage of a family run business. Dr Ryder. The personal touch." Mr Halpen said.

"But we should evacuate. If we can get to the rocket sheds..." Dr Ryder said, panicking.

"No need! We've got this." Mr Halpen opened a safe. "Detonation packs." He smiled and gave one to Dr Ryder.

"Place them around the circumference. We're gonna blow it up. This thing dies, so do the Ood." Mr Halpen said, and together they stuck the detonators to the balustrade.

ELEANOR

Sigma led us through the yard and to the door to Warehouse 15. The Doctor opened the door with his sonic and then groped for my hand. We went inside and went to the huge balustrade. I looked down and saw a gigantic brain which was pulsating.

"The Ood brain." I said.

"Now it all makes sense, that's the missing link." The Doctor said.

"The third element, binding them together." I added.

"Forebrain, hind brain, and this- the telepathic centre. It's a shared mind, connecting all the Ood in song."

Mr Halpen appeared in front of us, and pointed a gun at us. I gasped and the Doctor squeezed my hand.

"Cargo. I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business, much more manageable, without livestock." He said.

"He's mined the area." Dr Ryder said.

"They're gonna kill it?" Donna asked.

"They found that... thing centuries ago beneath the Northern Glacier."

"Those pylons." The Doctor said.

"It's a circle." Donna said.

"The circle must be broken." I mused.

"Damping the telepathic field. Stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years." The Doctor said.

"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here. I expected better." Mr Halpen said.

"My place is at your side, sir." Sigma said, and walked next to him.

"Haha! Still subservient. Good Ood." He cooed.

"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood starting breaking out?" Donna asked, pointing to the brain.

"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt. The subconsciousness reaching out."

"But the process was too slow. Had to be accelerated. You should never give me access to those controls, Mr Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends Of The Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded." Dr Ryder said. I whooped and he smiled at me shakily.

"Yes. Yes you did." Mr Halpen said, smiling nastily. He pushed Dr Ryder over the balustrade into the brain.

"You murdered him!" Donna shouted.

"Very observant, ginger. Now then, can't say I've ever shot anyone before. Can't say I'm gonna like it. But it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..." Mr Halpen said, aiming the gun straight at me. The Doctor tensed.

"Would you like a drink sir?" Ood Sigma asked.

"I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks." Mr Halpen said. Sigma moved between the Doctor and Mr Halpen.

"Please have a drink, sir." He insisted.

"If... If you're going to stand in their way, I'll shoot you too." Halpen warned.

"Please have a drink sir." Sigma said, and I finally got it. He'd been poisoning him. I let out a laugh, and hugged Sigma.

"Have... Have you... poisoned me?" Halpen asked, his hands starting to shake.

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir." Sigma said.

"What is that stuff?" Doctor asked.

"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound, sir." Sigma replied.

"What the hell does that mean?" Halpen demanded, frightened.

"Oh, dear..." The Doctor and I said.

"Tell me!"

"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. Came out in the red-eye as revenge. Came out in the rabid Ood as anger. And then, there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy, focused on Ood Sigma." Doctor said.

"How's the hair loss, Mr Halpen?" I asked, smirking. He touched his hand, and a load of hair came off into his hand. "Ew." I whispered.

"What have you done?" Halpen asked, shaking even more.

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood Brain. Mr Halpen, can you hear it? Listen..." Doctor said.

"What have you...? I'm... not...!" Halpen choked. The gun fell to the floor. He bowed forward and raked at the skin on his head. I grabbed the Doctor's arm for comfort, knowing what was going to happen. The skin and little hair left peeled back, revealing an Ood head. He coughed up tentacles and there he was. An Ood.

"I'm gonna be sick." I muttered, clamping a hand over my mouth. The Doctor rubbed my back.

"They... They turned him into an Ood?" Donna asked, horrified.

"Yep." The Doctor said, squinting.

"He's an Ood."

Halpen sneezed, and a brain fell into his hands. I groaned and lent into the Doctor's chest.

"I noticed." The Doctor said, winding his arms around me.

"He has become Oodkind. And we will take care of him." Sigma said.

"It's weird, being with you. I can't tell what's right and wrong anymore." Donna said.

"It's better that way. People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen."

"Situation ethics. Always be a teleologist." I muttered. I felt the Doctor's chest move as he chuckled.

"I didn't get a word of that." Donna said.

"Google it."

The detonators started to beep, so I let the Doctor run off and save the day.

"Ooh!" He said, and turned them off. "That's better. And now... Sigma, would you allow me the honour?" the Doctor asked.

"It is yours, Doctor." Sigma said.

"El, come here." The Doctor said.

"You called me El." I mused, and went to him. We both switched off the controls together, and the electric field around the Ood brain turned off. I smiled and took his hand.

"Oh, yes! Stifled for 200 years, but not any more. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!" the Doctor said. The song changed into a beautiful and happy one. The song of freedom. The Doctor and I laughed, Donna grinned at me.

"I can hear it!" She exclaimed.

By the Tardis, a few Ood's (including Sigma) had circled around us.

"The message has gone out. That song resonated across the galaxies, everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home." The Doctor said, and I smiled.

"We thank you, Doctor, Donna, Eleanor. Friends of Oodkind. And what of you now, will you stay? There is room in the song for you." Sigma said.

"Oh, I've... We've sort of got our own song, thanks." The Doctor said, looking at me.

"I think your song must end soon." Sigma said.

"Meaning?" The Doctor asked, his smile dropping.

"Every song must end." Sigma reasoned.

"Yeah." He said. He turned to Donna. "Erm, what about you? You still want to go home?" He asked.

"No definitely not." Donna said, grinning.

"Then we'll be off."

"Take this song with you." Sigma said, and the Ood lifted their palms started to sing.

"We will." Donna said.

"Always." I said.

"And know this, Doctor Donna, Eleanor. You will never be forgotten. Our children will sing of the Doctor Donna Eleanor, and our children's children. And the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever." Sigma said, and we walked into the Tardis.

*

When we landed on Earth, the Doctor grabbed my hand and turned to Donna.

"Will you be alright here for a while? I'm gonna walk El home." He said, the nickname sticking.

"Why can't she stay?" Donna asked.

"She will, one day." The Doctor said, smiling. "She won't be able to resist staying."

I smiled and hugged Donna goodbye.

"This isn't it, though, is it?" She asked.

"Of course not. I'll see you again." I assured her, and she relaxed a little.

"See you later!" she called. I waved as we walked outside. He shut the door behind us and as soon as we were outside, he pinned me to the Tardis doors.

His mouth crushed mine, and his hands wound in my hair, tangling up my curls and mussing it up. His tongue traced my bottom lip and I deepened the kiss. His hands went around my waist and he picked me up, I squeaked a little and wound my legs around his.

Suddenly, the Tardis door opened and Donna stood there, arms crossed.

"You know, there is a TV screen there that's showing me what you're doing." She said. The Doctor and I jumped away from each other and blushed.

"Thanks Donna." He muttered. 


	21. The Empty Child

ELEANOR

"I'll see you later, Doctor." I said gently, and kissed his cheek. He had actually walked me home, something which had surprised me immensely. He didn't usually do that.

"Mhm." He muttered, and smiled as I went into my house. I watched sneakily from my bedroom window as he walked back down the street, his hands in his pockets and his head bent down looking at the ground. I smiled to myself but jumped when I heard my Dad calling me.

"Ellie!" He yelled, walking into my room. "Who the hell was that?" He demanded.

"A friend." I squeaked, walking up to him and straightening his waistcoat. My Dad is a lecturer at university, teaching Philosophy. He had to wear fancy clothes and work late hours. But he was my Daddy and I loved him so much.

"He looked old." He complained, swatting my hands away. I sighed.

"He is." I said. "But he's a friend. Nothing dodgy going on, I swear Daddy." I promised, well. It wasn't a promise if I was lying.

"Promise?" He asked, his eyes looking sad. I avoided eye contact and nodded.

"Good. Well, if he tries anything, you have to tell me." He said sternly, before kissing my forhead and leaving my bedroom. I shrugged and jumped into my bed, as it was already 11pm.

"Oh, El!" He shouted. "You're grounded! Your curfew is 10pm." He yelled. I rolled my eyes. He never stuck to his punishments.

"Whatever you say, Daddy." I shouted back, and snuggled into my duvet.

*

The next morning, a rock was thrown onto my bedroom window. I gasped and rushed to the window, completely forgetting that I was dressed only in my underwear.

It was Nine. I sighed and brushed my hair off my face, trying to calm down my heart rate. I then looked down, saw him looking up and his face going bright red. I looked at myself, and squealed and flung myself onto my bed. My face too went bright red and my heart beat fast again.

"Urgh!" I groaned, and dragged myself into the shower. If he was going to wake me up rudely, he would have to wait.

I was dressed in black tights, a white t-shirt and a very short dungaree dress. I had vans on my feet and my favourite bracelets on. I left my hair down, but I straightened it for a change. Straight, my hair went down to my hips. I stuck some feather earrings in and rushed downstairs.

"Where are you going?" My Dad roared. I groaned internally.

"I have an exam in a couple of weeks, I'm going to the library to study." I lied. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Have fun with your friend, sweetie." He said, and I buttoned the top button of his sweater vest up. He rolled his eyes again and shooed me out the door.

"Don't tell your mother!" He cautioned, before slamming the door shut.

I grinned as I saw the Doctor leaning against my wall, his hands shoved into his leather jacket pockets.

I crept up on him and jabbed his hips. "Hey sailor!" I saluted. He smirked and grabbed my hand.

"When's the last time you saw me?" I asked, swinging my other arm and skipping a little as we walked down the road.

"About an hour ago. I missed you and your American ways though. I needed to see you again." He said humbly.

"Looks like someone can't live without me." I giggled. He raised his eyebrows, but kept his sly smirk on his face.

"You're in a happy mood." He said. I shrugged.

"It's sunny. What's there not to be happy about?" He shrugged and grinned at me. I grinned back.

When we reached the Tardis, I clicked and the doors opened.

"She still loves me." I said, stroking the door. She hummed gently under my hand and I smiled.

"Ah, you just can't live without 'er can you?" Rose asked, grinning and giving me a hug.

"How many times have you met me before now?" She asked.

"Just the one time. Autons." I said. Her eyes widened.

"Wow. That was a while ago." She said.

"Not for me." I said, smiling. "Only a couple of weeks."

"When's the last time you saw him?" She said discreetly, pointing to the Doctor, who was working at the console.

"Last night. We kissed." I confided, and she squealed and clapped.

"How far into his future is it?" She asked, grinning.

"A while." I said, and she smiled.

Suddenly, the Tardis moved a lot faster and a lot bumpier than normal. I grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her to the console before we both fell over. We grabbed hold and braced ourselves. The Doctor was grinning.

"What's the emergency?" Rose asked, frustrated.

"It's mauve." The Doctor replied.

"Mauve?" I demanded, and I gritted my teeth as we hurtled through space.

"The universally recognized colour for danger." He explained.

"What happened to red?" Rose asked.

"That's just humans. By everyone else's standards, red's camp." He said, and I snorted. "Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing."

"Skip to the end." I said, wanting to know where we were going. He showed us on the monitor. It looked like a bomb.

"It's got a very basic flight computer- I've hacked in, slaved the Tardis. Where it goes, we go."

"And how safe is it?" Rose asked, grimacing.

"Totally." The Doctor said.

"Not at all." I whispered to her, and she nodded in agreement. Almost on cue, part of the Tardis blew up.

"Okay, reasonably. Should have said reasonably there." He amended. Rose and I looked at each other, knowingly.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks- getting away from us!" The Doctor yelled.

"What exactly is this thing?" I asked.

"No idea." He replied.

"And why are we chasing it?" Rose asked, it was like talking to a child.

"It's mauve and dangerous." I guessed, grinning.

"And about 30 seconds from the centre of London." He added.

We landed with a bump. Rose exited first, followed by me and then the Doctor.

"Do you know how long we can knock around space without having to bump into Earth?" Doctor asked.

"Five days? Or is that just when we're out of milk?" Rose asked. I looked around. It looked dark, dingy, and desolate.

"Of all the species in all the universe and it has to come out of a cow." The Doctor complained Rose grinned. "Must have been quite close. Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month." The Doctor rambled.

"A month? We were right behind it!" Rose exclaimed.

"It was jumping tracks all over the place! We're bound to be a little bit out. Do you wanna drive?" He demanded, and I looked at the both of them, their faces twisted as if they were a married couple. I rolled my eyes and stepped back.

"Yeah... how much is a little?" She asked.

"A bit." The Doctor replied.

"Is that EXACTLY a bit?" I chipped in.

"Ish." He replied.

"Uh, men!" I exclaimed.

"What's the plan then? Are you gonna do a scan for alien tech or something?" Rose asked.

"Yes! Do a scan for alien tech, impress us Doctor." I begged.

"Rose, El, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm gonna ask." He replied. I looked at posters around on the walls.

'Hitler will send no warning.' I smiled. I'd always wanted to go to the Second World War, something about it always intrigued me. I decided not to tell him, I wanted to embarrass him. Of course something would have landed with a big bang. Daft fool.

The Doctor flashed Rose and I his psychic paper. Rose read it, I didn't bother.

"Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids." She read out. I rolled my eyes, something I did a lot.

"Psychic paper, tells you-" He began.

"Whatever you want it to tell us, we remember." I finished.

"Sorry." The Doctor said.

"Not very Spock is it? Just asking?" Rose complained. We stepped back and watched as he tried to open a door.

"Door, music, people. What d'you think?" He asked.

"We think you should do a scan for alien tech." I said, and Rose nodded. The Doctor held his sonic to the door.

"Gimme some Spock! For once, would it kill you?" Rose demanded, frustrated.

"Are you sure about that t-shirt?" I asked, she was wearing a Union Jack t-shirt. She looked at it.

"Too early to say. I'm taking it out for a spin." She said. I smirked. He continued to try and open the door.

"Muuuuummy!" I heard behind me. Rose turned around and tried to find the noise. I left her to it.

"Can I get a sonic?" I asked the Doctor.

"No." He replied. I sighed and lent on the wall. He opened the door, and we both went in. We followed sounds of singing and talking. We were in a bar, full of people drinking and smoking. There was a pretty woman singing up on the stage.

"For nobody else gave me the thrill, when I have found I love you still, it had to be you, wonderful you..." She crowed.

I smiled. I think everyone knew I loved vintage. She finished the song and we both applauded with everyone else. The Doctor jumped up onto the stage. I didn't want to be embarrassed with him, so I stayed in the crowd and waited for the laughter to begin. I crossed my arms and stared at him expectantly.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" He said into the microphone. "Could I have everyone's attention just for a mo? Be very quick, eh... hello!" He said, and waved happily. I smirked. "Eh... might seem like a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?" He asked. I snickered. Nobody laughed, or talked. The whole room was drowned in silence. He looked around expectantly. After a few seconds, the room burst into laughter, mine Doctor stared at us all, confused.

"Sorry, have I said something funny?" He asked. It made everyone laugh harder. "It's just, there's this thing I need to find, would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago." He continued.

"Oh mon dieu." I muttered, wiping a tear from my eye. An air raid siren went out. The room stopped laughing and started urgently collecting their things, a sense of fright in the room.

"Would've landed quite near here..." He continued, staring around the room. "With a very loud... bang.." He finished. He looked at me. I pointed to a poster on the wall.

"HITLER WILL SEND NO WARNING." It was the same as outside. He closed his eyes.

*

3RD PERSON

"Muuuuuuuumy?" An eerie voice said, and Rose went out to look for the child saying it. She finally found the rooftop which the child was standing on. He had a gas mask on.

"Doctor? Eleanor? There's a kid up there!" She shouted, but the Doctor and El had already gone into the nightclub. Rose tried to find a way up to the roof, all the time being watched by the child. Rose ran up to the building where the child was standing.

"Are you all right up there?" She yelled to the child.

"Muuuuuuuumy?" The boy called again. Rose located steps running up the side of the building and began sprinting up them. Rose sighed as she found they did not go all the way up to the top. The child was standing dangerously on the edge of the roof.

"Mummy?" The child called.

"Okay- hold on! Don't move!" Rose shouted. Suddenly, a rope swung down from the sky. It went right from Rose to the top of the building, where the child stood. She took a hold of it. She got a good grip, and huffed as she started the climb.

"Mummy..." The child called. "Balloon!" The child said, pointing up to a barage balloon. Rose looked up and noticed a gaggle of German planes throwing bombs all over London. The balloon started to fly away, and Rose rose higher and higher into the bomb infused sky. Shots and bombs flew past her.

"Okay... maybe not this t-shirt." She muttered, screaming and trying to hold on for her life.

*

ELEANOR

We left the nightclub only to find Rose was not there.

"Rose!" The Doctor called. We walked back to the Tardis, hoping to find her in there. A cat was sitting near the Tardis. He went a picked it up.

"You know... one day. Just one day, maybe... I'm going to meet someone who gets the whole 'don't wander off' thing." He said, to the cat.

"Hey!" I shouted.

"You do run off!" He defended, letting the cat go. I shrugged. Suddenly, the Tardis phone began to ring. I looked, confused, at the ringing phone.

"How can you be ringing? What's that about? Ringing?" He asked.

"That phone has never rung before." I said.

"Ten out of ten for observation." He said sarcastically. I gritted my teeth. He pulled his sonic out.

What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?" He asked. I went to pick it up for him.

"Don't answer it. It's not for you." A thick cockney accent said. I twirled around. A girl, not much older than me, was stood there. She had two plaits, a red face, a long duffel coat and small socks and shoes on.

"And how do you kow that?" I asked, turning on her.

"'Cos I do. And I'm tellin' ya, don't answer it." She warned me, her face looking solemn.

"Well, if you know so much, tell me this- how can it be ringing?" The Doctor asked, turning to the phone. "It's not even a real phone. It's not connected, it's not..." He turned around, as did I, but the girl was gone.

"Weirdo." I muttered. The Doctor turned back to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" He asked. I could hear no reply except crackling. "This is the Doctor speaking. How may I help you?" He asked. More crackling. And then I heard,

"Mummy?" The Doctor's stupid grin faded at the sound of the child's voice. "Mummy?" He asked again.

"Who is this? Who's speaking?" The Doctor demanded.

"Are you my mummy?" The child asked.

"Who is this?" The Doctor asked again.

"Mummy?"

"How did you ring here? This isn't a real phone, it's not wired up to anything, it's-"

"Mummy?" The line went dead. The Doctor placed the phone back on the cradle and shrugged at me. I bit my nails and ran into the Tardis,

"Rose? Rose, are you in there?" I called. 


	22. Scarlet

"The planes are coming. Can't you hear them? Into the shelter. None of your nonsense, now MOVE it!" A rotund mother stressed, pushing her children and husband into the metal air raid shelter. The Doctor and Eleanor had jumped up onto some bins to see what was going on, and to try and locate Rose.

"Come on, come on, get in there." She yelled, ushering a small boy into the shelter. She turned around and yelled back to the house. "Arthur! Arthur! Will you hurry up? Didn't you hear the sirens?" She yelled.

Her equally rotund husband came out of the house too, grumbling and frowning.

"Middle of dinner, every night. Bloomin' Germans." He moaned. "Don't you eat?" He yelled to the plane infested sky. The Doctor smiled and Eleanor giggled to herself.

"I can hear the planes!" The wife stressed, anxious.

"Don't you eat?" He yelled again.

"Oh, keep your voice down, will ya? There's an air raid." The wife said, shoving him into the shelter and she followed him in.

"Get in... there's a war on."

"I know there is-" He replied.

"It's hard to forget." Eleanor grinned. Once the air raid door was shut, the girl from before crept out from behind the shelter and went into the house through the backdoor.

*

ELEANOR

"Naughty naughty." I tutted, and we jumped over the wall to go into the house.

3RD PERSON

In the kitchen, Nancy put her bag on a counter and started emptying the cupboards into it. She stuffed a lot in and then left the room to find other provisions. She smiled as she saw a huge dinner laid out on the table. She rushed outside, whistled twice and rushed back inside. She took her coat off and hung it on the back of a chair. A gaggle of children rushed into the house.

"Many kids out there?" The woman asked.

"Eh... yes miss." A little boy replied, with a grubby face and scruffy clothes. The boys rushed to the table to get some food.

"Ah- still carving. Sit and wait." She reprimanded sternly. The boys did as they were told and sat down.

"We've got the whole air raid." The woman assured the children. She continued to carve the meat as more children piled into the house.

"Look at that, bet it's off the black market." The older boy said, pointing to the hunk of meat.

"That's enough." The woman said, but she smiled at the boy.

*

Rose was suspended hundreds of feet above London, kicking and screaming, with her t-shirt on full display. She held on for dear life as hundreds of planes whizzed by hair, raining bombs on the helpless city below.

A handsome man in uniform was watching her dangling through binoculars.

"Get those lights out please!" A commander said. The other soldiers in the same room as the man began to leave.

"Come on, down to the shelter." The commander continued.

"Jack? Are you going down to the shelter? Only, I've got to go off on some silly guard duty." A man said to the uniformed man. He spotted Rose dangling from the Barrage Balloon.

"Ah! Barrage balloon eh? Must've come loose. Happens now and then. Don't you RAF boys use them for target practice?" The man asked Jack. On the technologically advanced binoculars, Jack zoomed in onto Rose's bum.

"Excellent bottom." He drawled in an American accent.

"I say, old man. There's a time and a place. Look- you really should be off." The man said. Jack turned around to look at him, he laughed.

"Sorry, old man. I've gotta go and meet a girl. But you've got an excellent bottom too." Jack assured him, slapping the mans bum. The man looked happy.

The planes continued to whizz past Rose, who was struggling to hold onto the rope. There is an explosion right by her feet and she couldn't hold on any longer, she slipped and started to fall, screaming as she went. Suddenly, a large pulsating blue beam shot out from somewhere near Big Ben, holding her in place.

"Okay, okay, I've got you." Jack's American voice sounded through the beam. Rose looked around, confused.

"Who's got me? Who's got me, and you know... how?" She asked, looking scared.

"I'm just programming your descent pattern. Keep as still as you can and keep your hands and feet inside the light field." Jack warned her.

"Descent pattern?" Rose asked.

"Oh, and could you switch off your cell phone?" Jack asked. Rose whined.

"No, seriously. It interferes with my instrument." Jack insisted. Rose fumbled in her pockets for her phone. She pulled it out and switched it off.

"You know, no-one ever believes that." She said.

"Thank you. That's much better." Jack said, warmly.

"Oh, yeah, that's a real load off, that is. I'm hanging in the sky in the middle of a German air raid with the Union Jack across my chest, but hey! My mobile phone's off!" Rose exclaimed, hysterical. Jack chucked.

"Be with you in a moment." He promised. In his spaceship, Jack was talking to his computer.

"The mobile communication device indicates non-contemporaneous life form." The computer said.

"She's not from around here, no." Jack confirmed. "Ready for you, hold tight!" Jack called to Rose.

"To what?" Rose exclaimed.

"Fair point." Jack agreed. Rose zoomed feet first down the beam, screaming madly. She was caught by Jack in his spaceship.

"I've got you!" He exclaimed, grinning. Rose coughed. "You're fine. You're just fine. The tractor beam, it can scramble your head just a little." He told her. Rose caught her breath, noticing how handsome Jack was.

"Hello." She said breathlessly. Jack raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"Hello." He said. Rose gazed into his eyes, dreamily.

"Hello." She said again. Jack nodded at her.

"Sorry, that was hello twice there. Dull, but you know, thorough." Rose said. Jack grinned.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Fine!" Rose assured him. Jack set her down, and Rose grinned.

"Why, are you expecting me to faint or something?" She asked.

"Well, you do look a little dizzy..." Jack began.

"What about you?" Rose giggled. "You're not even focused. Oh boll..." Rose said, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she passed out. Jack smiled and led her down onto a chair.

*

ELEANOR

"It's got to be black market. He couldn't get all this on coupons." A child said, I smiled gently. They still hadn't realised we were sat with them.

"Ernie- how many times? We are guests in this house. We will not make comments of that kind. Washing up." The lady told him sternly. All the children laughed.

"Oh, Nancy!" The boy complained, grimacing. Nancy looked around the table and spotted a little boy. How she missed us I don't know.

"Haven't seen you at one of these before." Nancy stated.

"He told me about it." The boy nodded to another.

"Sleeping rough?" Nancy asked, I grinned. I was a sucker for a good cause.

"Yes, miss." The boy replied sadly.

Nancy smiled slightly. "All right then." She said and passed the plate of meat around. "One slice each, and I want to see everyone chewing properly." She warned.

"I love how she's teaching them table manners." I whispered to the Doctor. He nodded.

"Thanks miss." A child said, taking some meat.

"Thanks, miss."

"Thank you miss."

"Thanks, miss!" The Doctor exclaimed. He passed the plate to me. I shook my head and passed it on. (Vegetarian up in here.) All the children gasped and sat back, terrified.

"It's all right!" Nancy assured. "Everybody stay where you are!" A child stared at me, I grinned and waved.

"Good here, init? Who's got the salt?" The Doctor asked.

"Back in your seats! He shouldn't be here either." She assured the children, whilst glaring at the two of us. The Doctor smiled and got some sauce.

"So, you lot... What's the story?" I asked.

"What d'you mean? And what the hell are you wearing?" A child asked. I looked down at my short dungaree dress and tights.

"You're homeless right? And there's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing!" I said.

"Why dya wanna know that? Are you a copper?" A child asked me.

"Of course we're not coppers. What's a copper gonna do with you lot anyway? Arrest you for starving?" The Doctor asked, and they all laughed.

"I make it 1941?" I asked the Doctor. He nodded. "You lot shouldn't be in London. You should've been evacuated to the country by now." I finished.

"I was evacuated. They sent me to a farm." A child said.

"So why d'you come back?" Doctor asked.

"There was a man there..." The child replied.

"Yeah, same with Ernie. Two homes ago." An older kid said.

"Shut up. It's better on the streets anyway. Better food." Ernie said. I grinned at Nancy.

"So, that's what you do is it, Nancy?" the Doctor asked her.

"What is?" She asked, looking defensive.

"As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal, still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and - bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town. Puddings for all! As long as the bombs don't get you."

"Something wrong with that?" She asked.

"What's wrong with it? It's brilliant!" I exclaimed. "I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a west end musical." I pondered. The children looked at me confused. Damn me for having a philosophy teacher for a Dad.

"Why d'you follow me? What d'you want?" Nancy demanded.

"I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to be the one to ask."

"I did you a favour. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling ya." Nancy retorted.

"Great, thanks. And I wanna find a blonde in a Union Jack. I mean a specific one, I didn't just wake up with morning with a craving." He said, smiling. I giggled, he was so good with children. He always has been. The children giggled to each other. Nancy didn't look impressed. She stood up.

"Anybody seen a girl like that?" The Doctor asked. Nancy snatched his plate away. "What've I done wrong?" The Doctor asked, indignantly.

"You took two slices." Nancy said. The children laughed at him. I poked his waist and tutted at him. He poked me back.

"No blondes, no flags. Anything else before you leave?" Nancy demanded.

"Yeah, there is actually. Thanks for asking. Something I've been looking for, would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb. Not the usual kind anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Would've just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would've looked something like..." He drew something on a piece of paper. "This." He said, showing the paper.

"Great drawing." I said, sarcastically. Nancy stared at it but didn't say anything.

"You have a weird voice, miss." A little girl whispered into my ear. I giggled. She looked to be about 4. She had beautiful long black hair, and a cute little dress. She also looked terribly dirty.

"Thank you." I said, and she smiled and hooked her hand through mine, gripping it tightly. My heart panged, this little girl's parents and family had probably died; yet she still managed to smile at me. I decided then that I would look after her, do my bit.

There was a knock at the window and the girl grabbed my hand tighter.

"Mummy? Are you in there, mummy?" A child said. The Doctor walked to the window and pulled the curtain up. A child stood there, with a gas mask on.

"Mummy?" He asked.

"Who was the last one in?" Nancy asked, urgently.

"Him." Ernie said, pointing to the Doctor.

"Nah, they came round the back. Who came in the front?"

"Me." A child whispered.

"Did you close the door?" Nancy begged.

"I..." The child stuttered.

"Did you close the door?" She repeated.

"Mummy? Mummy?" The child asked. "Muuuuuuuuummy?"

Nancy pelted down the hallway and shut and bolted the door before the child could come in. I glared at her, the little girl's hand still safely wrapped in my own.

"What's this, then? It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know." the Doctor said.

"I suppose you'd know." Nancy said, sarcastically.

"I do actually, yes." the Doctor said, heatedly. Then he smiled at her.

"It's not exactly a child." Nancy informed us.

"Muummmmyyy?" Nancy pushed past us and went back into the dining room.

"Right, everybody out, across the back garden and under the fence." Nancy told the children, clapping at putting their coat on. I took my girls coat and put it on her, buttoning it up and freeing her trapped her.

"I want to stay with you." She said. I nodded and picked her up.

"Now! Go! Move!" Nancy exclaimed. Another little girl stood, not wanting to move.

"Come on, baby. You've got to go. Okay? It's just like a game, just like chasing." Nancy cooed. The girl jumped out of her seat. "Take your coat, go on." She said.

"Go!"

The Doctor, the girl and I stood in the hallway, looking confused.

"What's your name, sweetie?" I asked.

"Scarlet." She said, I smiled.

"I'm Ellie, this is the Doctor." I said, pointing to the Doctor.

"Oh, so we're keeping a kid now, are we?" He asked.

"Yep. You got a problem with that?" I asked. He shook his head, and sighed. The Doctor took a few steps towards the front door.

The child stuck a hand through the letterbox. There was a scar on his small.

"Please let me in, mummy."

"Are you all right?" The Doctor asked.

"Please let me in."

"It's alright, honey." I assured the poor child. Nancy suddenly threw a vase at the childs hand, and it pulled it back through the letterbox.

"You mustn't let him touch ya!" Nancy stressed.

"What happens if he touches me?" The Doctor asked.

"He'll make you like him."

"And what's he like?" I asked.

"I've gotta go." She said, moving away, looking terrified.

"Nancy, what's he like?" I demanded.

"He's empty." She said sadly, after a pause. The phone rang.

"It's him. He can make phones ring, he can. Just like with that police box you saw." The Doctor picked the phone up.

"Are you my mummy?" Nancy slammed it down.

"Mummy? Please let me in mummy." The child said, on the radio.

"Mummy? Muuuumy, muuuuumy" The child moaned. Nancy sprinted out the house.

"You stay here if you want to." She called. The child stuck his hand through the letterbox again.

"Wait." I said, and the Doctor turned to me. Shifting Scarlet to one arm, I grabbed his chin with my other hand and pulled his face to mine, crushing his lips onto mine for a brief few seconds.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"Being cute." I said.


	23. Nanogenes and Nancy

"Ok, well. Thanks for that." The Doctor muttered, and I grinned at him. He shook his head and turned back to the door. "Okay. I'm opening the door now." He told the 'empty' child. His hand went back through the letterbox, and the Doctor unbolted and slowly opened the door. I put Scarlet back onto the floor, in case we needed to run. But nobody was there. Not one person. I squinted, seeing if there was anybody lingering in the dark. The Doctor ran outside and walked up the path. No sign of the child.  
>"How strange." I noted, as Scarlet groped for my hand.<p>*<br>Rose woke up, and placed a hand to her forehead. She looked around Jack's ship.  
>"Better now?" Jack asked, smirking at her.<br>"You got lights in here?" Rose asked. Jack, who was sitting in the pilot seat, turned them on.  
>"Hello." Jack said.<br>"Hello." Rose replied, remembering just how handsome Jack was.  
>"Hello." Jack said, grinning. Rose giggled.<br>"Let's not start that again." Jack laughed.  
>"Ok." Rose pulled down her t-shirt and gulped. She took a few steps towards him.<br>"So, um... who're you supposed to be then?" She asked.  
>"Captain Jack Harkness. 133 Squadron Royal Air Force- American Volunteer." He informed her. He handed her an ID card. Rose looked at it.<br>"Liar." She said. Jack paused. "This is psychic paper. It tells me whatever you want it to tell me." Rose reminded him.  
>"How do you know?" Jack asked.<br>"Two things. One- I have a friend who uses this all the time." She said.  
>"Ah." Jack replied, sitting back in his chair.<br>"And two- you just handed me a piece of paper telling me you're single and you work out." Rose smirked. Jack leant forward, smiling flirtily.  
>"Tricky things, psychic paper." He muttered.<br>"Yeah- can't let your mind wander when you're handing it over." She smirked, and gave it back to him.  
>"Oh. You 'sort of' have a boyfriend called Mickey Smith, but you consider yourself to be footloose and fancy free." Jack read. Rose laughed, turning blood red.<br>"Wha-?" She laughed.  
>"Actually, the word you used is 'available'." Jack smirked. Rose grinned.<br>"No way." She said.  
>"And another one- 'very.'" He added.<br>"Shall we uh... try and get along without psychic paper?" She asked. Jack stood up.  
>"That would be better, wouldn't it?" He agreed.<br>"Nice spaceship." Rose commented, looking around a little. "Gets me around." Jack said, looking intently at her.  
>"Very..." She began, stroking the ceiling. "Spock." She finished. Rose looked at him to see if he understood. "Who?" He asked.<br>"Guessing you're not a local boy then." She muttered. Jack looked at his vortex manipulator.  
>"A cell phone, a liquid crystal watch, and fabrics that won't be around for at least another two decades... guessing you're not a local girl." He replied. Rose sat herself down in the pilot chair. "Guessing right." She confirmed. She tried to touch something, but she jerked her hands back reflexively, gasping in pain. Her hands had red burn marks.<br>"Burn your hands on the rope?" Jack asked.  
>"Yeah." She said. She looked out the window. "We're parked in midair! Can't anyone down there see us?" She asked.<br>"No. Can I have a look at your hands for a moment?" He asked patronisingly.  
>"Why?" Rose asked, sitting back down.<br>"Please?" He begged. He sat next to her. Rose held her hands out and he ran some kind of scanner on them.  
>"You can stop acting now. I know exactly who you are. I can spot a Time Agent a mile away." Jack muttered.<br>"Time Agent?" Rose asked, confused.  
>"I've been expecting one of you guys to show up. Thought, not, I must say, by barrage balloon. Do you often travel that way?" He asked, smiling.<br>"Sometimes I get swept off my feet." She said, looking into his eyes. "By balloons." Jack shed himself of his scarf and tied Rose's wrists together with it.  
>"What're you doing?" She asked.<br>"Try to keep still." Jack told her. He leant over her and switched something over her head. They caught each other's eye and Rose smiled nervously. There was a beeping sound, and tiny little golden fireflies appeared on the burns. "Nanogenes. Sub-atomic robots. The air in here's full of them." Jack explained. Rose smiled at the nanogenes on her hands, as they healed her hands. Jack switched off the button and they disappeared. "They just repaired three layers of your skin." He unwound the scarf.  
>"Well, tell them thanks." Rose giggled. Jack smiled and stood up.<br>"We'll get down to business." Jack said.  
>"Business?" Rose asked, innocently. Jack picked up a bottle of champagne.<br>"Shall we have a drink on the balcony?" He pressed a button and steps to the roof descended.. Jack started to walk up them.  
>"Bring up the glasses." He told her. He stepped out onto the invisible spaceship and popped open the bottle. Rose stepped out too, looking uneasy. They were parked straight in front of Big Ben.<br>"I'm standing on something..." Rose said, laughing nervously. Jack chuckled, and on a remote he pressed a button and the spaceship appeared.  
>"Okay... you have an invisible spaceship..." Rose said.<br>"Yeah..." Jack said.  
>"Tethered up to Big Ben for some reason..." She said.<br>"First rule of active camouflage. Park somewhere you'll remember." He said. He finally got the champagne open, and Rose whooped and Jack laughed as he filled up their glasses.

*  
>Nancy rushed across some train tracks. She ran into an outer house and started taking all of the food out of her bag. She turned around suddenly, and noticed the Doctor stood there. She looked behind him and saw the girl, stood with a little girl. Actually, it was Scarlet.<br>How'd you follow me here?" Nancy asked.  
>"I'm good at following, me. Got the nose for it." He said.<br>"People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to." Nancy said suspiciously.  
>"My nose has special powers." The Doctor said.<br>"Yeah? That's why it's uh..." Nancy said, trying to cover her smirk. Eleanor had walked over too and was smirking.  
>"What?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Nothing." Nancy said.  
>"What?" The Doctor asked Eleanor, he turned back to Nancy.<br>"Nothing! Do your ears have special powers too?" She asked, grinning. Eleanor had to move back to Scarlet to conceal her smile.  
>"What're you trying to say?" He asked. Nancy turned away. "Nancy. There's something chasing you and the other kids. Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy. And it started about a month ago, right?" He asked. Nancy looked back at him.<br>"The thing I'm looking for. The thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?" He asked.  
>"There was a bomb. A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station." Nancy told him.<br>"Take us there." The Doctor demanded. Nancy shook her head.  
>"There's soldiers guarding it. Barbed wire... you'll never get through."<br>"Try me!" the Doctor exclaimed.  
>"You sure you wanna know what's going on in there?" Nancy asked, grimly.<br>"We really wanna know." Eleanor said, with Scarlet glued to her side.  
>"Then there's someone you need to talk to first."<br>"And who might that be?" the Doctor asked.  
>"The Doctor." Nancy said. The Doctor frowned, Nancy turned away and El gave an ironic laugh.<br>"What are you doing with 'er anyway?" Nancy asked, pointing to Scarlet.  
>"She wants to stay with me." Eleanor defended herself.<br>"If you don't look after her, I'll be coming after you." Nancy warned. The Doctor smirked and turned away.

*  
>"You know, it's getting a bit late. I should really be getting back." Rose said.<br>"We're discussing business." Jack replied.  
>"This isn't business. This is champagne." Rose smiled.<br>"I try never to discuss business with a clear head." Jack said. He walked a little closer to her. "Are you travelling alone? Are you authorised to negotiate with me?" He asked.  
>"What would we be negotiating?" Rose flirted.<br>"I have something for the Time Agency. Something they'd like to buy. Are you in power to make payment?" Jack asked.  
>"Well, I- I should talk to my... companions." Rose stuttered.<br>"Companions?" Jack asked.  
>"Yeah, I should really be getting back to them. Do you have the time?" Jack cleared his throat, and took the remote out again. He pressed another button and Big Ben chimed and lit up right next to them.<br>"Okay, that was flash." Rose laughed. "Th-that was on the flash side." she stuttered. Jack moved closer and snaked a hand around her waist.  
>"So, when you say 'companions', just how disappointed should I be?" Jack asked.<br>"Okay... we're standing in mid air..." Rose said. Jack mumbled in agreement.  
>"On a spaceship... during a German air raid... do you really think now's a good time to be coming on to me?" Rose asked. Her voice stumbled and faltered as Jack placed his hand gently on her lips. "Perhaps not." Jack said.<br>"Well, it was just a suggestion." Rose stammered as he walked away. Jack turned back to her.  
>"Do you like Glenn Miller?" He asked. He pointed the remote over his shoulder and 'Moonlight Serenade' by Glenn Miller played. They began to slow dance.<br>"It's 1941. The height of the London Blitz. The height of the German Bombing Campaign. And something else has fallen on London- a fully equipped Chula Warship. The last one in existence..." Jack said. Rose rested her head on Jack's shoulder.  
>"Armed to the teeth." He drew back to look at her. "And I know where it is. Because I parked it." He said. Rose laughed.<br>"If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is gonna fall on it and destroy it forever." He said, then his eyes glazed over and he grew serious. "That's the deadline. That's the deal. And now, shall we discuss payment?" He asked.  
>"Do you know what I think?" Rose asked.<br>"What?"  
>"I think you were talking just there..." She said dreamily.<br>"Two hours, the bomb falls. There'll be nothing left but dust and crater."  
>"Promises, promises..." Rose muttered.<br>"Are you listening to any of this?" Jack demanded.  
>"You used to be a Time Agent, now you're some kind of freelancer."<br>"Well, that's a little harsh. I like to think of myself as a criminal." Jack said, pulling Rose closer.  
>"I bet you do!" Rose exclaimed, laughing.<br>"So, these companions of yours- do they handle the business?" Jack asked.  
>"Well, I delegate a lot of that, yeah."<br>"Well, maybe we should go find them." Jack said.  
>"And how're you gonna do that?" Rose demanded.<br>"Easy. I'll do a scan for alien tech." Rose grinned to herself.  
>"Finally. A professional." She whispered.<p>

ELEANOR The Doctor, Scarlet and I stood a little bit back from the bomb site. Nancy was stood behind us.  
>"The bomb's under that tarpaulin. They put a fence up over night." Nancy said. "See that building? The hospital." She said, pointing to the hospital. The Doctor looked at it through binoculars.<br>"What about it?" He asked.  
>"That's where the Doctor is." Nancy replied. "You should talk to him."<br>"For now, we're more interested in getting in there." I said, pointing to the bomb site.  
>"Talk to the Doctor first." Nancy pleaded.<br>"Why?" Doctor asked. I picked Scarlet up.  
>"'Cause then maybe you won't wanna get inside." She said. Nancy walked back up the steps behind us.<br>"Where're you going?"  
>"There was a lot of food in that house. I've got mouths to feed. Should be safe enough now." Nancy replied.<br>"Can I ask you a question? Who did you lose?" The Doctor asked.  
>"What?" Nancy asked.<br>"The way you look after all those kids. It's cause you lost somebody, isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it." The Doctor said.  
>"My little brother, Jamie. One night I went looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me, just told him it was dangerous. But he just... he just didn't like being on his own." She said sadly.<br>"What happened?"  
>"In the middle of an air raid? What do you think happened?" She said sadly.<br>"Amazing." I said.  
>"What is?" Nancy asked.<br>"1941." I replied. "Right now, not very far from her, a German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling. Nothing can stop it. Nothing, until one small island sys no. You're amazing, the lot of you. I don't know what you do to Hitler, but you're enough to frighten anyone." I said. "You lot stick together, it's like nothing I've ever seen before." I muttered. The Doctor grabbed my hand.  
>"Your Time Lord mind is really opening up now, isn't it?" He asked. I nodded.<br>"Must nearly be time." He pondered. "Off you go then... do what you've gotta do. Save the world." The Doctor said to Nancy. She turned and walked away from us. 


	24. Albion Hospital

The Doctor, Scarlet and I walked into the hospital, and finding the doors locked, he opened it with his screwdriver. I waited patiently. I undid the chain for him and we walked into the Albion Hospital.

We walked into a darkened ward. It gave me the creeps so much that I grabbed the Doctor's arm and linked mine through his, and finished our link by holding his hand too. Scarlet dropped my hand after seeing how scared I was and so walked to the Doctor and laced her pudgy fingers through his free hand.

In the ward, there were rows upon rows of people lifelessly sleeping on beds, with gas masks on their faces.

"I don't like it." I muttered. He squeezed my hand, and pulled us out of that ward. We walked out into a brightly lit corridor but I didn't let his arm or hand go. We went into another ward which was much the same as the previous. We heard a slight wheezing breath behind us, and we turned around.

"You'll find them everywhere. Every bed in every ward. Hundreds of them." The elderly doctor said.

"Yes I saw." The Doctor said.

"Why are they still wearing gas masks when they don't have to?" I asked, clinging to the Doctor tighter.

"They're not. Who are you?" The doctor said.

"I'm uh... are you the doctor?" My Doctor asked.

"Doctor Constantine. And you are?" He asked, looking reprimandingly at my short dungaree dress and t-shirt. I was sick of getting looked at like I was a tart.

"Nancy sent us." The Doctor replied.

"Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb. This is probably not the best place for your wife and child." He said, motioning to Scarlet and I. I didn't see the point in correcting him, neither did the Doctor apparently.

"Yes." My Doctor replied. To my surprise, he bent down and picked Scarlet up. She linked her arms around his head and rested her head on his chest.

"What do you know about it?" Doctor Constantine asked.

"Nothing. Why I was asking. What do you know?" My Doctor asked.

"Only what it's done." Doctor Constantine replied.

"These people- were they all caught up in the blast?" I asked.

"None of them were." Doctor Constantine laughed, but it turned into a vicious cough. I dropped The Doctor's hand and patted Doctor Constantine on the back, he looked at me gratefully as he sat down in the chair behind him.

"You're very sick." The Doctor noted.

"Dying, I should think- I just haven't been able to find the time. Are you a Doctor?" He asked.

"I have my moments." My Doctor replied.

"Have you examined any of them, yet?" Doctor Constantine asked.

"No." My Doctor replied.

"Don't touch the flesh."

"Which one?" I asked, catching the sonic screwdriver the Doctor had thrown me.

"Any one. Why is she doing it? She can't be a Doctor." Doctor Constantine replied.

"I have my moments." I retorted. "Besides, Scarlet is falling asleep right there." I said, pointing to the little girl in his arms. The Doctor didn't even look annoyed or bothered by the girls presence, something that bothered me. Did he have children of his own?

I walked over to the nearest bed. I ran the sonic over the face, observing what I saw.

"Conclusions?" Doctor Constantine asked.

"Um... Head trauma, mostly to the left side." I noted. I moved the sonic to the chest. "Collapsion of the chest cavity? Mostly to the right I think. There's an infected scar on the back of the hand, the gas mask doesn't look like it would be able to come off. There's no burns though." I said. Doctor Constantine nodded his head at my observations. Thankfully, I'd got it right.

"Examine another one." He said. I walked over to another body and scanned for the same thing. I gasped at what I saw.

"This isn't possible." I said. The Doctor walked over, Scarlet still in his arms.

"Examine another."

"This isn't possible!" I said, after rushing to another.

"No."

"They've all got the same injuries!" My Doctor said.

"Yes."

"Exactly the same." I pointed out.

"Yes."

"Identical, all of them. Right down to the scar on the back of the hand." The Doctor said. I motioned to take Scarlet from him so he could have a proper look. He passed her over gently and she nestled herself into my hair.

"How did this happen? How did it start?" The Doctor demanded.

"When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim." Doctor Constantine said.

"Dead?" I asked.

"At first. His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him - who had touched him - had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward had the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries - as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"

"Head trauma?" I asked.

"No."

"Asphyxiation." The Doctor said.

"No." Doctor Constantine said.

"The collapse of the chest cavity." I said.

"No."

"All right. What was the cause of death?"

"There wasn't one." Doctor Constantine said. I narrowed my eyes at him. "They're not dead." He hit his walking stick against a bin, and the patients suddenly sat bolt upright. I gasped and clutched the girl closer to me.

"It's all right. They're harmless. They just... sort of, sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just... don't die." The old doctor said, clearly confused.

"And they've just been left here? Nobody's doing anything?" The Doctor demanded. The bodies led down again.

"I try and make them comfortable. What else is there?"

"Is it just you?" I asked sadly.

"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither."

"I'm sorry." I said. He swatted it away with his hand, but smiled sadly at me. "I am still a doctor."

"Yeah. Know the feeling." The Doctor said.

"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb."

"Probably too late." The Doctor said, looking around.

"No. They are isolated cases. But... isolated cases breaking out all over London." Doctor Constantine said. He coughed again and his speech began to split. The Doctor went to walk towards him.

"Stay back, stay back." He wheezed.

"Listen to me... top floor. Room 802. That's where they took the first victim. The one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again." He choked.

"Nancy?" I asked.

"It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she mi... mi..." He gagged and clutched at his neck. I hugged the little girl tightly. "M... mu... meee." He moaned. I watched the Doctor, who was looking at the old man with pained concern written on his face.

"Are.. you... my...muuu...mummyyy?" He moaned, speech being difficult for him.

"Oh my God." I muttered. A gas mask was forcing it's way through his mouth. I whimpered and forced Scarlet's face away from the man. I stepped back a couple of steps from the horror of it. It sounded like leather, and his eyes switched into the glass panes of the gas mask. A sob erupted from my lungs, it was too horrible. Worse than the Ood. The Doctor grabbed my hand. The mask fused to his face and he went limp.

"Hello?" An American voice called.

"Hellooo?" A familiar voice said. I turned around and rushed away from the man to see who Rose was with. The Doctor followed me, the hand on the small of my back. Rose was with a GORGEOUS man.

"Good evening. Hope I'm not interrupting. Jack Harkness." He said, shaking the Doctor's hand. Rose looked at me and the sleeping child and her eyes went wide. "I've been hearing all about you on the way over."

"He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents." Rose said to the Doctor, winking. "Who's that?" She asked.

"This is Scarlet. She has no parents." I said. "And hellooooo." I said to Jack, as he kissed the back of my hand. The Doctor moved slightly in front of me, and only I heard a quiet growl from the back of his throat.

"Who might you be?" Jack asked.

"Eleanor Thorn." I replied, grinning.

"It's a real pleasure to meet you, Eleanor, Mr Spock." Jack said to me then the Doctor. He and I both looked at Rose for some enlightenment. He patted the Doctor on the shoulder and walked off.

"Mr Spock?" The Doctor asked.

"What was I supposed to say? You don't have a name! Don't you ever get tired of 'Doctor'? Doctor who?" Rose asked.

"Nine centuries in, I'm coping. Where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz, it's not a good time for a stroll." The Doctor said.

"Who's strolling? I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid." Rose said sarcastically. I giggled. She started to follow Jack, and the Doctor and I followed her.

"Are we keeping Scarlet?" Rose asked.

"I don't think so." I replied. "The Tardis isn't the best place for an orphan." I said, sadly looking at the pretty girl. I didn't look to see the Doctor, he would probably be smiling at that information.

"Listen, what's a Chula warship?" Rose asked.

"Chula?" The Doctor asked.

We walked into a ward where Jack was scanning some of the bodies. I grabbed for the Doctor's hand again.

"This just isn't possible. How could this happen?" Jack asked.

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" The Doctor asked, pulling me along with him.

"What?" Jack asked.

"He said it was a warship. He stole it. Parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's gonna fall on it, unless we make him an offer." Rose explained.

"What kind of warship?"

"Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this!" Jack said, agitated.

"This started at the bomb site. It's got everything to do with this. What kind of warship?" The Doctor demanded angrily.

"An ambulance!" He exclaimed. He turned on his wrist device. "Look." He said, showing us. A hologram of a warship appeared on it.

"That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle - love the retro look, by the way, nice panels - threw you the bait-" Jack said.

"Bait?" Rose asked.

"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk." Jack admitted.

"You said it was a war ship." Rose said.

"They have ambulances in wars." Jack defended. "It was a con. I was conning you, that's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents, but you're not, are you?" He asked.

"Just a couple more free-lancers." Rose said.

"Ahh. Should have known. The way you guys are blending in with the local colour. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but Teen Mother and U-Boat Captain?" Jack asked.

"Scarlet is not my child!" I shouted.

"Anyway... whatever's happening here has got NOTHING to do with that ship." Jack insisted.

"What is happening here, Doctor?" Rose asked.

"Human DNA's being rewritten... by an idiot." The Doctor spat.

"What d'ya mean?" Rose asked.

"I dunno. Some kind of virus. It's converting human beings into these things." He said, pointing to the bodies. "By why? What's the point?"

Rose walked over to one of the bodies, and examined it. She suddenly jumped back as it sat up. I whimpered and squeezed the Doctor's hand, these things really creeped me out. They all sat up. I jumped back. They all started saying "mummy?" repeatedly.

"What's happening?" Rose asked, panicked.

"I don't know." The Doctor said, positioning himself in front of Scarlet and I. The people got out of their beds and enclosed on Jack, Rose, the Doctor and Scarlet and I.

"Don't touch them." I warned.

"What happens if we touch them?" Rose asked.

"You're looking at it." I said, darkly. They had us backed onto a wall. My breathing was growing heavier, and I was scared out of my mind, but I still had to protect the sleeping child.

"Mummyyyyyyy."

"Muu-mmmy. Muu-mmyyyy."

"Mummy?"

"Mummyyyyyy?"

"Go to your room!" The Doctor shouted, as if talking to a naughty child. The people hesitated in trying to kill us. "Go to your room!" He demanded, his hand still in mine. The people cocked their heads to the side.

"I mean it! I am very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross! Go- To- Your- ROOM!" The Doctor yelled. He pointed harshly in a direction, and thankfully, the people turned meekly away. I sighed in relief. The patients all climbed back into bed.

"I'm really glad that worked. Those would've been terrible last words." The Doctor said. I laughed thankfully and kissed his cheek. Rose coyly winked at me.

Jack was sat in a chair, just looking dreamy. Rose was sat by one of the beds, staring intently at the patients.

"Why are they all wearing gas masks?" She asked.

"They're not. Those masks are flesh and bone." Jack explained.

"How was your con supposed to work?" The Doctor asked him.

"Simple enough, really. Find some harmless piece of space-junk... let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth. Convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put 50% up front - oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for. Never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con." Jack said.

"Yeah. Perfect." I said sarcastically. I had set Scarlet down, she had woken up with all the noise. She was currently clung to Rose's leg. Rose was obviously quite fond of her.

"The London blitz is great for self cleaners. Pompeii's nice if you want to make a nice vacation of it though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day." He joked, laughing. The Doctor simply looked at him and his laughter died.

"Getting a hint of disapproval." Jack said.

"Take a look around the room. This is what your harmless piece of space junk did." The Doctor said. He walked off and I followed.

"Rose." The Doctor called.

"We getting out of here?" Rose asked.

"Please say yes." I begged.

"We're going upstairs." The Doctor said. I looked to find Scarlet, she was holding Rose's hand.

"Cute, isn't she?" I asked. Rose smiled.

"What're we gonna do with her?" She asked.

"I don't know." I sighed.

I just realised how long this chapter section is going to be haha. Sorry if you're not liking it, but these two episodes are my favourites! :) I'm guessing two more chapters before we move on. Also, comment and let me know about what you want me to do with Scarlet.

And I just realised, I haven't done anything with Amy or Rory! That's definitely next, to commemorate Karen and Arthur's final shooting day that was on Saturday. :( I cried when I read Karen's tweet. Sad times people, sad times.

-Fay x 


	25. Jealousy

Hello! I want to say a huge huge thank you for your comments and reviews, and your ideas about Scarlet have not been unnoticed. :-) Your support has motivated me even more with this story, and I know it must be boring right now, but the Doctor is not someone who would rush into a relationship. Believe me, when The Doctor Dances is done, we get into the real story. I love you all! -Fay x

"I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living- I harmed no-one! I don't know what's happening here, but believe me- I had nothing to do with it." Jack assured us, following us.

"I'll tell you what's happening. You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day." The Doctor retorted.

"Burrrn." I muttered. A siren whined in the distance.

"What's that?" Scarlet asked. I looked back at the little girl and smiled at her. She was still gripping onto Rose's hand. I felt a pang of worry, perhaps this wasn't the best place to be looking after a child.

"The all-clear." Jack told her.

"I wish." The Doctor said. We left the ward.

Nancy had gone back to the house with the food, trying to find more to sustain the children for the unforeseeable future. She winced as the heard the front door bang, and hid under the dining table as she saw the shadow of the empty child walking into the house.

The child had found her, and repeatedly asked if she was his mummy. Nancy was backed into the corner of the room, sobbing. Suddenly, the child stopped, cocked his head and walked sadly out of the room. Nancy slid down the wall, sobbing.

"Jamie!" She called quietly. After hearing the siren, Nancy stood, sobered herself up and went to leave the house. Suddenly, a child wearing a gas mask jumped in front of her. Nancy screamed and toppled backwards.

The little boy took the mask off. Nancy sighed and gently swatted the child on the back of the head.

"I thought you were Jamie!" She exclaimed, and the two walked out of the back door.

"Dad! Dad!" A boy shouted, as they walked outside. The rotund husband and wife appeared, and the husband angrily shouted and tried to push a struggling Nancy back into the house.

"Get your hands off me!" Nancy stressed.

"Mr Spock?" Jack called. I snorted.

"Doctor?" Rose asked. The Doctor and I popped our heads around the banister, after seeing Rose, Jack and Scarlet running past us.

"Have you got a blaster?" The Doctor asked. Rose pulled Scarlet's hand, and they backtracked to us.

"Sure." Jack said. They ran up the stairs. We were standing outside a door.

"The night your space junk landed, someone was hurt. This was where they were taken." I told Jack, remembering what Doctor Constantine had said before his disgusting and disturbing end.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"Let's find out." The Doctor said. "Get it open." He instructed Jack. Jack grinned and pointed a blaster at the door.

"Ooh!" I sighed, gazing dreamily at Jack. The Doctor impatiently grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. "I didn't mean it." I lied, he growled under his breath and wouldn't drop my hand.

"What's wrong with your sonic screwdriver?" Rose asked.

"Nothing." The Doctor replied. Jack's blaster cut a beautiful and perfect and BEAUTIFUL hole around the lock on the door, which consequently fell off.

"I think that was a really good job, Jack. Well done." I said to him. "As a fellow American, I'm proud." Jack grinned and winked at me. I giggled and ignored the Doctor's hand squeezing mine, and his glare at me and then Jack.

"Sonic blaster, 51st century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?" The Doctor asked through gritted teeth.

"You've been to the factories?" Jack asked.

"Once." The Doctor said, looking at the blaster.

"Well, they gone now. Destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vapourized the lot." Jack said.

The Doctor gave the blaster back. "Like I said- once. There's a banana grove there now. I like bananas. Bananas are good." The Doctor said. I winked suggestively at Jack, who winked back.

"Enough!" The Doctor roared, and dragged me through the door.

"Mr Possessive." I said.

"Yeah, I am. Is that alright?" He demanded. I rolled my eyes, but I rubbed a thumb over his hand to calm him down.

Rose and Jack followed us into the room, laughing. I had to admit, playing with the Doctor's head was proving to be funny. I knew full well that I wanted nothing to do with Jack, except to mess with the Doctor.

The Doctor switched the light on. The room looked trashed. The window was broken and there was rubbish and clutter all over the floor.

"What d'ya think?" The Doctor asked.

"Something got out of here..." Jack said.

"Yeah. And?" The Doctor asked.

"Something powerful. Angry." I suggested.

"Powerful and angry." The Doctor agreed, and his eyes softened a little when he looked at me smiling at him. Jack walked through into the side of the room. The walls were plastered with children's drawings. A few toys scattered the floor and Scarlet rushed over to play with them. I watched her fondly for a while before turning my attention back to the room.

"A child? I suppose this explains 'mummy'." Jack said.

"How could a child do this?" Rose asked. The Doctor pressed play on a tape player.

It was a recording of Doctor Constantine talking to the child.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Are you my mummy?"

"Are you aware of what's around you? Can you... see?"

"Are you my mummy?"

"What do you want? Do you know-"

"I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy?"

I looked at the drawings. Every single one was of either a woman, or a child and it's mother. I walked over to Scarlet and picked her up, needing the support.

"Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"

"Doctor, I've heard this voice before." Rose said.

"Me too." The Doctor said.

"Snap." I muttered.

"Always, 'are you my mummy?' Like he doesn't know." Rose said.

"Mummy?"

"Why doesn't he know?" Rose asked.

"Are you there, mummy? Mummy?"

It was then I noticed that the recording had stopped playing a short while ago.

Mr Lloyd, the house owner, walked into the dining room and shut the door behind him. He leant on the table and looked at Nancy.

"The police are on their way. I PAY for the food on this table. The sweat on my brow, that food is. The sweat on my brow. Anything else you'd like? I've got a whole house here, anything else you'd like to help yourself to?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'd like some wire cutters, please." Nancy said, smiling.

Mr Lloyd glared at her.

"Something that can cut through barbed wire. Oh, and a torch. Don't look like that Mr Lloyd. I know you've got plenty of tools in here. I've been watching this house for ages. And I'd like another look round your kitchen cupboards. I wanna see if there's anything I missed." Nancy continued.

"The food on this table-" Mr Lloyd began, angrily.

"Is an awful lot of food, isn't it Mr Lloyd?" Nancy interrupted. "A lot more than one anyone else's table. Half this street thinks your missus must be messing about with Mr Avistock, the butcher. But she's not, is she? You are." Nancy said, smugly. Mr Lloyd looked uncomfortable, and he wiped sweat of his forehead.

"Wire cutters. Torch. Food. And I'd like to use your bathroom before I leave, please. Oh, look... There's the sweat on your brow." Nancy concluded. Mr Lloyd stepped back and allowed Nancy through.

The reels of the tape began to spin.

"Mummy? Please, mummy? Mummy?" The child said.

"Doctor." I said, uncomfortably. I couldn't see the child, but the tape definitely wasn't playing anymore.

"Can you sense it?" The Doctor asked.

"Sense what?" Jack asked.

"Doctor..." I said again.

"Coming out of the walls, can you feel it?"

"Mummy?"

"Doctor!" The Doctor turned to look at me.

"Funny little human brains, how do you get around in those things?" He asked. I sighed.

"Doctor..." He was either ignoring me, or concentrating on something.

"When he's stressed, he likes to insult species." Rose explained to Jack.

"Rose, I'm thinking."

"Cuts himself shaving, does half an hour in life forms he's cleverer than..." Rose said.

I gave up, and concluded that the tape must still be playing, because I couldn't see the child anywhere.

"There are these children living rough around the bomb site. They come out during air raids looking for food. That's where we found Scarlet."

"Mummy, please?" The child said, and Scarlet whimpered.

"Suppose they were there when this thing- whatever it was- landed?"

"It was a med-ship. It was harmless." Jack said.

"Yes you keep saying. Harmless. Suppose one of them was affected- altered?" The Doctor said.

"Altered how?" Rose asked.

"I'm here!" The child said. I turned around, and saw the empty child. I edged closer to the Doctor and tugged on his jacket. He nodded slightly at me, he'd seen the child too.

"It's afraid. Terribly afraid. And powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will do. It's got the power of a God, and I just sent it to its room." The Doctor laughed.

"Doctor..." Rose said, after finally noticing the tape had run out.

"I'm here. Can't you see me?" The child asked, I grabbed the Doctor's hand.

"What's that noise?" Rose asked.

"I sent it to it's room. This is its room." The Doctor said. Rose and Jack span around and saw the child by the tape machine.

"Are you my mummy?" He cocked his head. "Mummy?" He asked, looking at Rose and me.

"Doctor..." Rose said, distressed.

"Okay... On my signal... make for the door. NOW!" Jack shouted, and violently pointed a banana at the child. The Doctor grinned, tightened his grip on my hand and pulled out Jack's sonic blaster. He blasted a hole in the wall.

"Go! Now! Don't drop the banana!" We hopped through the wall.

"Why not?" He shouted.

"Good source of potassium." I suggested, coolly walking over the rubble left of the wall, with Scarlet.

We were back in a corridor. The child was coming at us through the wall.

"Give me that!" Jack said, grabbing the blaster from the Doctor.

"Are you my mummy?" Jack blasted the wall, and it rebuilt itself.

"Digital rewind." Jack said, and tossed the banana to the Doctor.

"Suave." I said suggestively, wanting to wind the Doctor up. Jack clearly knew what I was doing, as did Rose, because she hid her smile behind her hand.

"Will you stop encouraging her." The Doctor shouted, and once again he pulled me to his side and away from Jack.

"Nice switch, by the way." Jack said, motioning to the blaster and banana.

"It's from the groves of Villengard. I thought it was appropriate." He growled.

"There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?" Jack asked.

"Bananas are good." The Doctor replied. There was a loud banging from the wall, and cracks appeared in it.

The child was punching his way through the wall.

"Not the time!" I shouted.

"Come on!" The Doctor said. I was getting out of breath from carrying Scarlet, and the Doctor noticed. He took her out of my arms and carried her instead. I smiled at him as a thank you.

We rushed down a small flight of stairs and down more corridors. A myriad of patients burst through walls, shouting "Mummy!" I whimpered, and we ran backwards. They were everywhere we looked.

"Oh, God. I'm going to be turned into a walking gas mask." I moaned.

"It's keeping us here so it can get at us." The Doctor said.

Jack pointed the blaster at each direction, warning all of them.

"It's controlling them?" Jack asked.

"Omnipotent." I said. He stared at me and I shrugged.

"It IS them. It's every living thing in this hospital." The Doctor said.

"Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and a triple enfolded sonic disrupter. Doc- what you got?" Jack asked.

The Doctor took his sonic out of his pocket, and put Scarlet on the floor. I took a hold of her hand. I was surprised at how quiet she was being, and how she put up with the running.

"A sonic, er... oh, never mind."

"What?" Jack asked, not looking as he pointed the blaster wildly around.

"It's sonic, okay? Let's leave it at that."

"Disrupter? Cannon? What?" Jack demanded.

"It's sonic! Totally sonic! I am soniced up!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"A sonic WHAT?" Jack demanded.

"SCREWDRIVER!" The Doctor said, a little embarrassed. Jack spun around. The child finally punched his way through the door. He started to climb through the wall. Rose grabbed Jack's wrist and pointed the sonic blaster at the floor. I picked Scarlet up just in time and protected her from the fall.

"Going down!" Rose shouted. She blasted the floor and we all fell through. Scarlet started crying.

"What is it? What hurts?" I asked desperately looking for something wrong with her. I had protected her with my body, making sure not one part of her was hurt.

"Scared." She replied. I made sure there was nothing broken or sprained, and then I hugged her tightly, stopping her crying. Jack hurriedly rebuilt the ceiling.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Rose asked.

"Could've used a warning!" The Doctor stressed, who walked over and double checked to see that Scarlet was okay.

"Ugh, the gratitude." Rose sighed. We stood up and brushed ourselves off.

"Who has a sonic screwdriver?" Jack asked.

"I do!" The Doctor said.

"Light." Rose said, looking around the dark room.

"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'oohoo this could be a little more sonic?'" Jack asked.

"What, you've never been bored? Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?" The Doctor asked, indignantly.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen. Let's face it. Jack's is bigger." I said, and Rose had to smother her laughter. I smirked and turned around, yet again messing with my Doctor.

He didn't say anything, he just looked down, clearly upset. My heart twinged and I felt instantly guilty. I walked over to comfort him, but was sidetracked by the gas mask people sitting bolt upright in their beds as Rose switched the light on.

"Door." Jack said. We ran to the door, only to find it locked. Jack tried to blast it, but it wouldn't work.

"Damn it!" Jack stressed. He stepped back, allowing the Doctor through and he used his sonic. "It's the special features, they really drain the battery." Jack said.

"The Doctor's is bigger. Doesn't need batteries." I said, trying to make the Doctor smile. He ignored me. Rose, however, couldn't cope, and started laughing again. Jack smirked.

"The battery?" Rose asked Jack. The door finally opened and we walked into the empty room. The Doctor locked the door behind him.

"That's so lame." Rose said, regarding Jack's battery.

"I was gonna send for another one, but somebody's gonna blow up the factory." Jack said to a glaring Doctor.

"Oh, I know- first day I met those two, he blew my job up. That's practically how he communicates." Rose said.

"What is the deal with those two?" Jack asked Rose.

"Eleanor is a half time lord, half human. She has this watch thing and when she opens it, she'll be a full Time Lord. The Doctor picks her up and drops her off and they have days like these. Personally, I think they need to admit their love for one another." Rose whispered to him, I pretended not to listen.

"Okay, that door should hold it for a bit." The Doctor said, stepping away from the door.

"The door? The wall didn't stop it!" Jack stressed.

"Well, it's gotta find us first. Come on, we're not done yet. Assets, assets." The Doctor said.

"Well, I've got a banana, and at a pinch you could put up some shelves." Jack joked.

"Window..." The Doctor said, and he walked to the window. I dropped Scarlet's hand and followed him.

"Barred, sheer drop outside. Seven stories." Jack said.

"And no other exits." Rose said.

"Well, the assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?" Jack asked, sitting himself in a chair.

"So, where'd you pick this one up then?" The Doctor asked Rose, glaring at Jack.

"Doctor..." Rose said, warningly.

"She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance." Jack said.

Rose looked uncomfortable.

"Okay, one, we want to get out of here. Two, we can't get out of here. Three, we've got two annoying Americans in here. Have I missed anything?" The Doctor asked.

"Hey!" I said. He didn't look at me.

"Yeah... We've only got one annoying American. Jack just disappeared." Rose said. The Doctor and I turned around to see Jack's chair empty.

"Hey!" I said after a while, realising what Rose said.

Jim was typing on his typewriter. The other children were sat next to him. Nancy walked in the room.

"Thought as much. What are all of you doing here? Different house every night, I told ya!" Nancy said.

"We thought you were dead! Or you'd run off." Jim said.

"I didn't. I knew you'd come back for us." Ernie said. Nancy sat down and emptied her bag.

"Found that old thing in the junk. Thinks he can write now." Ernie said, pointing to Jim on the typewriter.

"I'm writing a letter to me dad." Jim said.

"You don't even know where your dad IS. And how're you gonna send it?" Ernie asked.

"I dunno, stick it in an envelope?" Jim said, as if it was a stupid question.

"You can't even read or write." Ernie said.

"I don't need to, I've got a machine!" Jim shouted.

"Will you stop making that noise!" Nancy yelled, as the typewriter pinged. Everyone stayed perfectly still, and everything was silent. Jim looked crestfallen and Nancy softened.

I'm sorry Jim. On you go. You write a letter to your dad if you want to." Nancy said. Jim smiled and started typing again.

I know we should've went somewhere else, but we need you, see. For the thinking." Ernie said to Nancy.

"And what if I wasn't here? What if one night, I didn't come back for you? There's a war on... People go out... They don't always come back. It happens. What would you do then?" Nancy demanded. Ernie's brow furrowed and picked up the wire cutters.

"Are they wire cutters?" He asked.

"I need you to think about that. Someone's gotta look after this lot!" Nancy said to Ernie.

"Why? Are you going somewhere?" Ernie asked.

"The bomb site. The one at the railway station."

"Why?" Ernie demanded, shocked.

"The child. That's where he was killed. That's where it all started. And I'm gonna find out how." Nancy said.

"He'll get you! And then he'll come for us. He ALWAYS comes for us!" Ernie shouted, scared.

"No. Ernie, he doesn't. He always comes after ME. There are things I haven't told ya... things I CAN'T tell ya. As long as you're with me... you're in danger. Even now, sitting here, you're in danger because of me. " Nancy said, sadly.

"You're the one that keeps us safe!" Ernie protested.

"You think so, Ernie? Then answer this: Jim is sitting there right next to ya. So, who's typing?" She asked. The children looking to Jim, who wasn't typing. An eerie typing sound continued, the children gasped and looked scared. When the typing stopped, Nancy yanked the paper out.

Row upon row of 'Are you my mummy?' was typed upon the sheet.

"Is he coming?" Ernie asked.

"Ernie... as long as you're with me... he's always coming." Nancy said, and left. "Plenty of greens, and chew your food." She said to the children.

The Doctor sat down on a chair. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and rested my head on his shoulder.

An old radio sprang to life and Jack's voice was heard through it.

"Rose? Doctor? Eleanor? Can you hear me?" Jack asked. We hurried to the radio and the Doctor picked it up.

"I'm back on my ship." Jack said. "Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you."

"How're you speaking to us?" The Doctor asked.

"Om-com. I can call anything with a speaker grille." Jack said.

"Now there's a coincidence." The Doctor said.

"What is?"

"The child can om-com too."

"It can?" Rose asked. The Doctor nodded.

"Anything with a speaker grille. Even the Tardis phone."

"What, you mean the child can phone us?"

"And I can hear you. Coming to find you. Coming to fiiiiind you." The child said, and Scarlet whimpered. I picked her up and she nestled into my hair.

"Doctor, can you hear that?" Jack asked.

"Loud and clear." The Doctor replied.

"I'll try to block out the signal. Least I can do." Jack said.

"Coming to find you, mummy!"

"Remember this one, Rose?" Jack asked, and Glenn Miller started to play. Rose smiled to herself.

"Our song." She explained. The Doctor nodded, and I walked over to him. I placed Scarlet on the floor, put hands on either side of the Doctor's face, and pulled him down to reach me. Our lips connected and it was as if electricity pulsated through us, because he responded. He attempted to deepen the kiss, his hands holding my waist, mine knotting around his neck, but a cough stopped us. I broke away, breathing loudly.

Rose was stood there, tapping her foot, smirking to herself.

"What was that about?" She demanded.

"My apology. For before." I shrugged, and picked Scarlet up again. I looked at the Doctor, who had blushed, and he was staring into space.

"Nice." Rose whispered into my ear.

"Oh, I agree." I said, grinning at her.

That took me two hours to write. Please- keep the comments and reviews coming through! I want to hear more about Scarlet! Thank you. I love you all.

-Fay x 


	26. Scarlet Nancy Thorn

Rose was shuffling around on her spinny chair, I was led on my back with my legs in the air, Scarlet was playing with my hand and the Doctor was at the window. He hadn't talked to anyone since the kiss, and the silence was boring.

"What you doing?" Rose finally asked.

"Trying to set up a resonation pattern in the concrete. Loosen the bars." The Doctor said, sonicing the wall.

"You don't think he's coming back, do ya?" Rose asked, spinning around on the chair.

"Wouldn't bet my life." He replied.

"Why don't you trust him?" Rose asked.

"Why do you?"

"Saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing." Rose said. I snorted and Scarlet giggled at the sound. The Doctor didn't reply. Rose looked at him for a moment.

"I trust him 'cause he's like you. Except with dating and dancing." Rose said. I froze. The Doctor looked at her, and then at me for longer, his eyes boring into mine.

"What?" I asked.

"You both assume I'm..." He said, struggling for words.

"What?" I asked again.

"You just assume that I don't... dance." He mumbled.

"What, are you telling me you do dance?" Rose asked, grinning. I smiled and stood up.

"Nine hundred years old, me. I've been around a bit. I think you can assume that at some point I've danced." He said. Rose grinned wider.

"You?" She said.

"Problem?"

"Doesn't the universe implode or something if you...dance." She said. "Although, I thought the world would implode if you got a girlfriend, but clearly..." She said, gesturing to me.

The Doctor winced. "Well, I've got the moves but I wouldn't want to boast." Rose stopped spinning on the chair and stood up and turned the music up. She walked forwards slowly, flirtatiously. I saw red. Rose was a very close friend, but he was MY Doctor. I walked forwards to, deciding to do a 'you choose who you want' type thing. Rose would understand. Rose held her hands out to him, I simply stood there, looking at him.

"You've got the moves?" She asked. The Doctor looked at Rose, then at me. "Show me your moves."

"El, Rose. I'm trying to resonate concrete."

"Jack'll be back. He'll get us out. So come on- the world doesn't end 'cos the Doctor dances." Rose said, grinning. The Doctor looked between the two of us, and pocketed his sonic screwdriver. The Doctor then walked towards me, Rose smiled to herself as she dropped her hands. I understood. She was giving us a moment. I noted to myself to thank her later. He stood in front of me with an odd expression on his face, he took my hands and gazed into my eyes. I wound my arms around his torso, and he wrapped his around my shoulders, in an embrace. We swayed to the music, not really dancing, not really standing still. Just being.

I moved my head so that my forehead was leaning on his chest, and he bent down and nestled his face into my neck and sighed softly. Rose went and sat back down on her chair, still smiling to herself. I paused slightly as I felt the Doctor kiss my neck through my hair, before I smiled.

*

"Ellie!" Scarlet called, "Ellie, I'm thirsty." I was sat back on the floor, my legs in the air again. Scarlet was sat next to me. The Doctor was sat next to Rose and Rose was staring dreamily into the distance.

"I don't think I have one on me, Doctor. Do you have anything for Scarlet to drink?" I called. He shook his head.

"Sorry sweetie, you'll have to wait. Jack won't be long though." I assured her. She smiled sweetly at me, showing her teeth.

"Can I stay with you forever?" She asked me. I looked at her, refusing to answer.

"Barrage Balloon?" The Doctor asked Rose, breaking the silence.

"...What?" She asked, snapping out of her daydream.

"You were hanging from a barrage balloon." He said, and reached over to look at her hands.

"Oh... yeah. About two minutes after you left me. Thousands of feet above London- middle of a German air-raid, Union Jack ALL over my chest." She complained. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"I've travelled with a lot of people, but you're setting new records for jeopardy friendly." He told her. He looked back at her hands. "Hanging from a rope a thousand feet above London. Not a cut, not a bruise." He said.

"Yeah, I know. Captain Jack fixed me up..." She said.

"Oh, we're calling him 'Captain Jack' now, are we?" He asked, looking at me.

"I didn't say it!" I defended, my hands going up in a surrender. I looked to my right, to get away from his intrusive stare. All I could see was my gingery brown hair splayed out in a fan shape around me, and I couldn't even see the ends. I needed a haircut.

"Well, his name's Jack, and he's a captain..." Rose trailed off.

"He's not really a captain, Rose." The Doctor smirked, self-satisfied.

"D'you know what I think? I think El and Captain Jack have turned you into Captain Envy." Rose smirked. The Doctor half nodded, not denying it. I grinned to myself.

"If ever he was a captain, he's been defrocked." He said.

"Yeah? Shame, El and I missed that." Rose said, smiling.

"Actually, I quit. Nobody takes my frock." Jack said. I looked up, we were in Jack's ship. The Doctor and Rose sitting on chairs there, Scarlet sat next to me, and I was led on the floor. I stood up hastily, and picked Scarlet up too and set her on her feet.

"Most people notice when they've been teleported. Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security." Jack smirked.

"You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols? Maybe you should remember whose ship it is." The Doctor said.

"Oh, I do. She was GORGEOUS." Jack said, and I giggled, causing the Doctor to, yet again, pull me to his side. Jack lifted an eyebrow and looked at Rose knowingly.

"Like I told her- be back in five minutes." He finished. He ducked into a compartment under the console.

"This is a Chula ship." I said, looking around.

"Yeah, just like the medical transporter. Only, this one IS dangerous." Jack said. The Doctor snapped his fingers, and his hand was surrounded by little golden butterflies. I did the same, and bent down to show Scarlet, who giggled in delight.

"They're what fixed me hands up! Jack called 'em, um..." Rose struggled.

"Nanobots? Nanogenes." The Doctor said.

"Nanogenes, yeah!" Rose confirmed.

"Sub-atomic robots. There's millions of them in here, see? Burned my hand on the console when we landed- all better now. They activate when the bulk head's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws." He explained.

Rose grinned. The Doctor swiped them away with his hand and turned to Jack. I kept them for Scarlet's amusement.

"Take us to the crash site. I need to see your space junk." The Doctor said.

"Kinky." I muttered, and Jack winked at me.

"As soon as I get the nav-com back online." Jack said. The Doctor looked annoyed. "Make yourself comfortable. Carry on with whatever El and you were doing, Doctor." He smirked.

"Eleanor and I were dancing!" The Doctor said, innocently, referring to earlier. I grinned at Jack.

*

Nancy crept onto the bomb site, trying her best not to be seen. She ducked behind a tent, but the flood lights immediately switched on. The entire site filled with light and she was caught.

"Halt! Don't move!" Algy said. The soldiers pointed their guns at her.

*

Rose was sat talking to Jack. The Doctor and I sat next to each other, secretly holding hands. Scarlet was content on the floor, gazing at the spaceship. She had asked various questions about the technology, but seeing as she was young, she wouldn't have noticed the change in scenery. Going from 1940's war filled Britain, to a modern and decked out spaceship didn't even bother her. The Doctor was rubbing circles onto my skin. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. Thankfully, it went unnoticed by Jack or Rose, which meant no suggestive winks got sent my way.

"So, you used to be a Time Agent- now you're trying to con them?" Rose asked Jack.

"If it makes me sound any better, it's not for the money." Jack said, messing with the controls.

"For what?" Rose asked.

"Woke up one day when I was working for them- found they'd stolen two years of my memories. I'd like them back." Jack said.

"They stole your memories?" Rose asked, shocked.

"Two years of my life. No idea what I did." The Doctor was watching them. Jack finally looked up. And... Yes. A wink was sent at me. I rolled my eyes and sat up, but our hands were still linked together.

"Your friend over there doesn't trust me. Not only because of Eleanor's plan to make him jealous, but... Well... for all I know, he's right not to." Jack said. The computer bleeped and Jack looked back at the computer.

"Okay, we're good to go." He said. "Crash site?"

*

Algy entered a fenced off area with Nancy and another soldier.

"As you were. Feeling any better Jenkins?" Algy asked.

"Just a turn, sir." Jenkins said.

"Chain her up where Jenkins can keep an eye on her." Algy told the other soldier. The soldier walked Nancy over to a chair next to a table, and sat her down. He cuffed her to the table.

Nancy's eyes flashed to the back of Jenkin's hands and her heart rate accelerated.

"No. Not in here. Not with him." Nancy begged. There was a scar on the back of his hand.

"You shouldn't have broken in here if you didn't want to stay." Algy said.

"You don't understand. Not with HIM." Nancy said, urgently pleading with him.

"This is a restricted area, miss." Algy said. Jenkins looked at Nancy, in discomfort. Nancy looked at him, revolted.

"You're going to have to stay here for a bit. We're going to have to ask you a few questions." Algy said.

The other soldier showed Algy Nancy's wire cutters.

"Found these sir."

"Very professional... little bit too professional. Didn't just drop in by accident, then. Did you?" Algy asked.

"My little brother died here. I wanted to find out what killed him." Nancy said.

"Take the men, check the fence for any other breaches and search the area. She may not have come alone." Algy said to soldiers at the door.

"Yes, sir." They left and Algy went to follow.

"Please! Listen, you can't leave me here!" Nancy pleaded, tears forming in her eyes.

"Watch her, Jenkins." Algy said, and walked off.

"Yes, mummy." Jenkins said. Algy turned around.

"Jenkins?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"Sorry- sir- I- I don't know what's the matter with me." Jenkins said, rubbing his forehead. He looked really uncomfortable and even in pain.

"Look... Lock me up, fine. But not here. Please. Anywhere but here!" Nancy begged. Algy didn't know what to do, so shook his head and left.

"You'll be alright, miss. I'm just a little..." Jenkins said, wheezing and coughing. Nancy shook the handcuffs, desperate to leave the soon to be empty man.

"Just a little... just a little..." She shook her handcuffs harder. Jenkins panted.

"What's the MATTER with you?" He demanded.

"Please, let me go." Nancy said, a tear dripping down her face.

"Why would I do that?" Jenkins asked, bending over a little.

"Cos you've got a scar on the back of your hand." Nancy said, closing her eyes a little.

"Well, yes. But I don't see what that's got to do with anything." Jenkins snapped.

"And you feel like you're gonna be sick, like something's forcing its way up your throat." Nancy continued.

Jenkins stared at her, choking and sweating.

"I know, because I've seen it before." She said desperately.

"What's happening to me?" Jenkins asked, scared.

"In a minute, you won't be you anymore. You won't even remember you. And unless you let me go, it's gonna happen to me too. Please." She begged, tugging at her handcuffs again.

"What're you talking about?" Jenkins asked.

"What's your mother's name?" Nancy asked.

"Matilda." Jenkins said, grabbing his throat and choking.

"You got a wife?" Nancy asked. Jenkins was turning red.

"Yes." He rasped, speaking was becoming difficult.

"Wife's name?" He simply stared at her. "You got kids?" Nancy asked. He couldn't remember, he didn't say anything. "What's YOUR name?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know." He mouthed, not being able to speak anymore.

"Please. Let me go. It's too late for you, I'm sorry. But please, let me go." She sobbed.

"What d'you meeeee-" Jenkins said, his face contorting, he was in pain. "M... Muuumeeeee..." He moaned. His jaw opened wide, as if something was about to appear. Nancy scrunched her eyes shut and screwed up her face whilst he was wailing in agony.

*

The Doctor, Rose, Jack, Scarlet and I all walked over to the rail station near the bomb site. The Doctor and I were holding hands, and Scarlet was holding my other one. We peered over some barbed wire.

"There it is." Jack said, pointing. We spotted a commander pacing. "Ay, they've got Algy on duty. Must be important."

"We've gotta get past." The Doctor said.

"The words 'distract the guard' head in my general direction." Rose said, pulling down her top and shoving her chest out a little. I rolled my eyes, knowing that Algy was quite clearly gay by the way Jack looked at him.

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea." Jack said.

"Don't worry... I can handle it." Rose said, and I smiled into the Doctor's arm.

"I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town. Trust me. You're not his type. I'll distract him." Jack said, and walked over to Algy. "Don't wait up."

Rose looked at me and then the Doctor.

"Relax, he's a 51st century guy. He's just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing." I said, nudging the Doctor, who grinned at me.

"How flexible?" Rose asked.

"Well, by his time, you lot have spread out across half the galaxy." The Doctor said.

"Meaning?" Rose asked.

"So many species, so little time..." I said, grinning.

"What, that's what we do when we get out there? That's our mission? We seek new life, and... and..." Rose stammered.

"Dance." The Doctor said. He sniggered, and I choked back my laughter. We watched Jack jump down onto the track and walk over to Algy.

"Hey, tiger! How's it hanging?" Jack asked. Algy turned to Jack,

"Mummy?"

"Algy, old sport, it's me." Jack said,

"Mummy?" Algy asked, cocking his head.

"It's me, Jack." He said, his smile fading.

"Jack?" Algy asked. "Are you my... mummy?" He coughed and fell to his knees. Before us all, his face transformed into a gas mask. I picked Scarlet up and buried her into my hair, the Doctor stood in front of us, blocking the view.

"Stay back!" the Doctor shouted to the soldiers running over to Algy. Jack looked horror stricken.

"You men! Stay away!" Jack yelled. Rose, the Doctor and I rushed over to Jack. Algy was on the floor, perfectly still. Rose stared at him.

"The effect's become air borne. Accelerating." The Doctor said. I whimpered and he put a hand on the small of my back.

"What's keeping us safe?" Rose asked.

"Nothing." The Doctor said, sounding scared himself.

The air-raid siren sounded and Jack looked up.

"Ah, here they come again." Jack said.

"All we need. Didn't you say a bomb was gonna land... here?" Rose asked and Jack nodded. We heard somebody singing in the background.

"Never mind about that. If the contaminants air borne now, there's hours left."

"For what?" Jack asked.

"Til nothing, til forever. For the entire human race. And can anyone else hear singing?" The Doctor asked.

"Nancy!" Scarlet said, grinning toothily. We rushed over to a shed. Nancy was locked to a table, with a sleeping gas mask man next to her.

"Rock a by baby, on the tree tops, when the wind blows the cradle will rock..." She sang shakily. We creaked the door open further. Nancy turned to look at us. She exhaled loudly but continued singing.

She motioned to her handcuffs.

"...on the tree tops, when the wind blows the cradle will rock..." She sang. The Doctor walked over to her and unlocked the handcuffs with his sonic screwdriver. The handcuffs snapped open and she hurriedly stood up, and they both walked out, leaving the soldier fast asleep. We walked back to the bomb site, and the Doctor and Jack uncovered a Chula med-ship. Nancy, Rose and I watched, with me still holding onto Scarlet.

"You see? Just an ambulance." Jack said.

"That's an ambulance?" Nancy asked.

"It's hard to explain... it's... it's from another world." Rose said to the woman.

"They've been trying to get in." Jack said.

"Of course they have." the Doctor said. "They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon. What're you doing?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, the sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you'll see I had nothing to do with it." Jack said, entering a code into the med-ship. The controls exploded and sparked, and we all jumped backwards. An alarm sounded.

"Didn't happen last time." Jack said.

"It hadn't crashed last time. Emergency protocols." The Doctor said.

"Doctor, what is that?" Rose asked, pointing to a flashing red light on the panel. "Doctor!" Rose shouted, the gates at the end of the bomb site were shaking.

"Captain, secure those gates!" The Doctor yelled.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Just do it!" the Doctor said. Jack did as he was told. The Doctor turned to Nancy.

"Nancy, how'd you get in here?" He asked.

"I cut the wire." She said..

"Show Eleanor and Rose." He said, passing his sonic to me and kissing my cheek. I picked Scarlet up. "Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty eight D." The Doctor said.

"Done." I said. That setting reattached barbed wire. I looked around, in horror as the gas mask people started wandering over from the hospital. I groaned and moved faster.

Rose and I worked on the wire, reattaching it together. Rose held two pieces together and I soniced them together.

"Who are you? Who are any of you?" Nancy asked.

"You'd never believe us if we told you." I said.

"You just told me that was an ambulance from another world. There are people running around with gas-mask heads calling for their mummies, and the sky's full of Germans dropping bombs on me. Tell me. Do you think there's anything left I couldn't believe?" Nancy said. I looked at Nancy.

"We're time travellers from the future." I said, knowing how bizarre it sounded

"Mad, you are." Nancy said, smirking.

"We have a time machine- seriously!" Rose said.

"It's not that. All right- you've got a time machine, I believe ya. Believe anything, me." She said. She looked up at the sky. "But what future?" She asked.

"This isn't the end. I know how it looks. But it's honestly not the end of the world." I assured her.

"How can you say that? Look at it." Nancy said.

"I was born in America, in 60 years time. I moved to London. Rose was born here." I said.

"From here?" Nancy asked. Rose nodded, smiling.

"I'm a Londoner. From your future." Rose said.

"But... But you're not..." Nancy said.

"What?" Rose asked.

"German." Nancy said.

"Nancy. The Germans don't come here. They don't win. We win. You send Germany running." I said, smiling at her. "You want to know a secret? Hitler kills himself, because he knows he's going to lose. Just... promise you won't tell anyone." I laughed, and she laughed disbelievingly.

"We win?" She asked, grinning. Rose nodded. Nancy laughed again, finding it such good news.

"Come on!" Rose said, after we'd pieced the fence back together, and we ran over to Jack and the Doctor.

Jack cracked open the med-ship. "It's empty. Look at it." He told the Doctor.

"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops? Eleanor, Rose?" The Doctor asked.

"I dunno." Rose said.

"Yes, you do." The Doctor said, miming summoning nanogenes.

"Nanogenes!" Rose and I shouted together.

"It wasn't empty, Captain. There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species." The Doctor said. Jack was shaken, and his skin had paled.

"Oh, God." He muttered.

"Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and wearing a gas mask." The Doctor said. I got it.

"And they brought him back to life? They can do that?" Rose asked.

"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though- these nanogenes- they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like." The Doctor said. "All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do, they patch it up. Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly - off they go, work to be done. 'Cos you see NOWthey THINKthey know what people should look like and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire Human Race is gonna be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and NOTHINGin the world can stop it!" The Doctor said, his voice rising, he was almost shouting. Jack was shaking, ashen and terrified.

"I didn't know." He mumbled.

The Doctor stared at him for a few moments, and then went to fix the ship. I walked over to my Doctor, and kissed behind his ear. He smiled gently and I walked back over to Scarlet, who was grinning at the kiss. I rolled my eyes at the little girl.

Nancy was staring into the distance, looking at the gasmask people beyond the gates, calling 'mummy.'

"Eleanor." She said, scared. I rushed over to Nancy, as did Rose. The gasmask people were stumbling over the rail track, they were quite far away, but still closer than I liked.

"It's bringing the gasmask people here, isn't it?" Rose asked, gesturing to the flashing red light on the med-ship.

"The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol." The Doctor said.

"But... gasmask people aren't troops..." Rose said.

"They are now. This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, programme you."

"That's why the child is so strong." I said.

"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four year old- looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them." The Doctor said. The gasmask people were at the fence. We looked around nervously.

"Why don't they attack?" Jack asked.

"Good little soldiers. Waiting for their commander."

"The child?" Jack asked.

"Jamie." Nancy said, I turned to look at her.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Not 'the child', Jamie." Nancy snapped. The Doctor looked at her too, and then we both looked at each other.

"So, how long until the bomb falls?" Rose asked.

"Any second." Jack said.

"What's the matter, Captain? But close to the volcano for you?" My Doctor asked.

"He's just a little boy." Nancy stressed.

"I know." The Doctor replied.

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy." Nancy sobbed.

"I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can." I muttered, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"So, what're we gonna do?" Rose asked.

"I don't know." The Doctor said.

"It's my fault." Nancy said, crying.

"No." the Doctor said.

"Don't say that." I added.

"It is, it's all my fault."

"How can it be your-" the Doctor said.

"Oh." I said, we both Doctor span around, looking at the gasmask people behind the fence, calling for their mummy. Calling for Nancy. She was now sobbing uncontrollably. I tightened my grip on her and stroked her hair, soothingly.

"Nancy, what age are you? Twenty? Twenty one? Older than you look, yes?" The Doctor asked. A bomb landed nearby and I looked at Scarlet to make sure she was okay. She was holding Rose's hand.

"Doctor- that bomb. We've got seconds." Jack warned. Another bomb landed nearby. Rose jumped.

"You can teleport us out." She said to Jack. He shook his head.

"Not you guys. The nav-com's back online. Gonna take too long to override the protocols." Jack said.

"So it's volcano day. Do what you've gotta do." The Doctor said, not taking his eyes away from Nancy and I.

"Jack?" Rose asked Jack, betrayed. Jack looked apologetically, and then teleported.

"How old were you five years ago, sweetie?" I asked Nancy. "Fiteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth?" I asked, she nodded slightly. She was ashamed, but she continued to sob.

"It's okay..." I soothed.

"A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied." The Doctor said, Nancy now had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You even lied to him." He continued.

Nancy nodded. The gates swung open and the child stood in front of the army of gasmask people. They were ready to charge.

"Are you my mummy?" The child asked.

"He's gonna keep asking, Nancy. He's never gonna stop. Tell him." the Doctor suggested.

The gasmask people continued to walk forwards, and Nancy didn't reply.

"Nancy... the future of the human race is in your hands. Trust me... Trust Eleanor... and tell him." the Doctor said. Nancy sniffed. The child walked up to us. I let her go and grabbed the Doctor's and Scarlet's hands.

"Are you my mummy?" The child asked. The Doctor pushed Nancy to the child.

"Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?"

"Yes." Nancy whispered. "Yes. I AM your mummy." She said, stronger.

"Mummy?" The child asked, walking slowly towards her.

"I'm here." Nancy said.

"Are you my mummy?"

"I'm here." She said, kneeling down in front of him.

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes." Nancy whispered.

"He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left." the Doctor told me. Nancy looked at her son.

"I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I am so sorry." She said, tearful. She took him into her arms, I gasped and grabbed the Doctor's hand tighter. The nanogenes surrounded them, making them glow. Nancy hugged him tighter to her, and closed her eyes.

"I am so, so sorry." she said to him.

"What's happening?" Rose asked. "Doctor, it's changing her, we should-" Rose said.

"Shh!" The Doctor said, staring intently at the parent and her child.

"Come on, please. Come on you clever little nanogenes, figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. There's gotta be enough information, figure it out!" He said, and we both waited.

"What's happening?" Rose asked again.

"See. Recognizing the same DNA." I told her, pointing.

Nancy fell away from Jamie, and the nanogenes disappeared. The Doctor rushed over, pulling me, and Rose followed. The Doctor looked down at the child.

"Oh come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one." The Doctor said. He reached out to the gasmask, and took it off to reveal a healthy and ordinary looking boy under. Nancy stared in delight and the Doctor laughed ecstatically. He picked me up and swung me around, and I laughed with him. He crushed his lips to mine, and I wound my arms around his neck. His hands tangled into my long hair, and I ended it briefly, wanting to hug the crap out of Nancy and Jamie.

The Doctor got there first, and picked Jamie up. I hugged Nancy and then Rose, who was grinning.

"Ah-ha-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years til pop music- you're gonna love it." The Doctor grinned.

"Promise me you'll get John Lennon's autograph?" I asked Nancy, and she looked confused.

"What happened?" Nancy asked, grinning again.

"The nanogenes recognised the superior information- the parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them!" The Doctor called. He plonked Jamie in front of Nancy, who enveloped him in a hug. "Mother knows best!" He said.

"Jamie!" Nancy called, crying with happiness.

"Doctor, that bomb." Rose reminded him, as another bomb landed nearby.

"Taken care of it." The Doctor said.

"How?" Rose asked.

"Psychology!" the Doctor said, gesturing to the mother and son. The bomb fell towards us, but was snatched out of the air by a blue force field.

"Doctor!" Jack called down, he was sat on the bomb in the force field.

"Good lad!" The Doctor called.

"The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis but it won't last long." Jack said.

"Change of plan- don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it? Safely as you can?" He asked.

"Rose?" Jack asked.

"Yeah?" Rose called.

"Goodbye." He said, and he saluted.

He disappeared and Rose's smile faded. He reappeared however.

"By the way- love the t-shirt!" Jack called, and Rose glowed with happiness. Jack disappeared again, his ship flying away into the night. The Doctor walked a few paces away, looking at his hands. He summoned the nanogenes, they fluttered on his hands.

"What're you doing?" Rose asked, and I picked Scarlet up.

"Software patch. Gonna email the upgrade. You want moves, Eleanor? I'll give you moves." The Doctor said, and he flung the nanogenes away from him, towards the gasmask people. He grinned as they all fell to the floor, the nanogenes surrounding them.

"Everybody lives, El, Rose. Just this once, everybody lives!" He called. I smiled at Scarlet, who was laughing at the Doctor's happy behaviour.

The gasmask people got back to their feet, only they were no longer gasmask people. They were normal, human beings. The Doctor and I rushed over to Doctor Constantine.

"Doctor Constantine. Who never left his patients. Back on your feet, constant doctor! World doesn't wanna get by without you just yet, and I don't blame it one bit." The Doctor said.

"Yes, yes... So it seems. They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station. Is there any particular reason for that?" The doctor asked, confused and dazed.

"Yeah, well, you know... cutbacks. Listen, whatever was wrong with them in the past, you're gonna find that they're cured. Just tell them what a great doctor you are. Don't make a big thing of it. Okay?" My Doctor asked, beaming away.

An old lady hobbled over to Doctor Constantine.

"Doctor Constantine." She said.

"Mrs Harcourt- how much better you are looking!" He exclaimed.

"My legs grown back! When I came to the hospital, I had one leg." She exclaimed.

"Well, there is a war on. Is it possible you miscounted?" The old doctor asked.

"Right, you lot! Lots to do. Beat the Germans, save the world, don't forget the welfare state!" The Doctor called.

Constantine smiled, and he and his patients walked away. The Doctor jumped down to Rose.

"Setting this to self destruct, soon as everybody's clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?" He asked.

"Usually the first in line." I noted, he grinned at me. Rose grinned too.

We walked into the Tardis, the Doctor rabbiting on. I set Scarlet down and she stared at the spaceship and ran off to find something to occupy her.

"Scarlet! Come here!" I called sternly. "Stay with me." I told her, and she did as she was told.

"The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off - because I just told them to. Nancy and Jamie will go to Doctor Constantine for help - ditto - all in all, all things considered - fantastic!" The Doctor said.

"Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas." Rose said, grinning.

"Who says I'm not, red bicycle when you were twelve?" The Doctor said. I gasped.

"What?" Rose asked, bewildered.

"And everybody lives, girls. Everybody lives!" the Doctor called. He switched something on the Tardis. "I need more days like this."

"Doctor.." Rose said.

"Go on, ask me anything. I'm on fire!"

"What about Jack?" Rose asked.

The Doctor's smile faded and he carried on working.

"Why'd he say goodbye?" Rose asked. The Doctor didn't answer.

"Well hurry up then!" Rose called, as Jack's ship merged into the Tardis. The Doctor and I were in some odd embrace, with Rose dancing with Scarlet. Jack rushed over to the Tardis.

The Doctor and I were waltzing. I was trying to teach him, but he wasn't really getting it.

"Right, and turn..." Rose instructed us. He span me around, but got me all twisted, my hair turning a full circle around me.

"Try and spin me again, but this time- don't get my arm up my back!" I said. The Doctor looked at me sheepishly.

"No extra points for a half nelson." Rose inputted.

"I'm sure I used to know this stuff." The Doctor said. "Close the door, will you. Your ship's about to blow up, there's gonna be a draft." He said to Jack. Rose grinned at Jack and leant on a pillar.

The Doctor dropped my arms, and he flicked a switch on the Tardis.

"Welcome to the Tardis."

"Much bigger on the inside." Jack said.

"You'd better be." Doctor replied.

Rose grinned and walked over to take Jacks hand, to dance.

"Rose! I've just remembered!" The Doctor called.

"What?" She asked.

A different song played, and the Doctor moved towards Rose in time with the music, clicking his fingers.

"I can dance!" He said. I started laughing.

"Actually, Doctor... I thought Jack might like this dance." I thought I'd leave them to it, and so I walked off to the Tardis dressing room with Scarlet.

"Let's get you washed and dressed." I told her. I gave her a bath and washed her beautiful black hair. She played in the water for a little while as I picked her some clothes.

A bright red, knee length dress with long sleeves, tights and some dolly shoes is what I chose. She gasped at the clothes.

"I've only worn those clothes." She said, pointing to her raggedy old clothes Id dumped in a bin.

"You're going into a whole different time now, Scarls, get ready for some changes." I warned her, and she laughed as she twirled around in her dress. I took her hand and walked back into the console. Jack whistled, causing Scarlet to giggle. The Doctor smiled and picked her up.

"I think we know what to do with you." He said. "El, you're taking her with you." He demanded.

"I am?"

"You're so good with her, and she looks up to you." Rose said. "She'll be best with you."

"I'm only eighteen." I said.

"Doesn't mean you have to be her mother." Jack inputted.

"What about when I'm here?" I asked.

"Babysitter." The Doctor said. "Or... you could bring her along."

"What about at home?" I asked, this would never work.

"You're eighteen, get your own flat, say she's your sister. Be a Nancy." The Doctor said.

"Money..." I said. He handed me a wad of cash.

"I don't need it. There's quite a lot there." He said, and he kissed the top of my head.

"What do you think Scarls?" I asked her.

"I want to stay with you." She whispered.

"Right then." I confirmed, and Rose giggled as Scarlet grinned up at me.

"Scarlet Nancy Thorn." I said.

"That's not my name." She said.

"It's pretty though, isn't it?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Well, Scarlet Nancy Thorn, let's go and choose you and your companion a house." The Doctor said.

Please tell me if you like/don't like!

-Fay x 


	27. The Escaped Fish

Thank you again for your brilliant feed back! I know some of you are concerned about the fact that Scarlet's only 5 and they don't really know her, but I have a plan :-)

The Doctor opened the door to 2012 London, and I walked out with Scarlet. I'd told her not to be scared about the drastic change in scenery. One minute in 1941, the next in 2012. Whatever she was feeling, she had been ecstatic about the fact that she was no longer a war child. The Doctor had arranged a meeting with the social services, to report that I had found the child and that I intended to keep her. I wasn't sure if that would win them over, but I was definitely prepared to lie if it came to it.

All five of us flocked out of the Tardis. Rose was walking behind the Doctor, Scarlet and I, and she was casually chatting and laughing with Jack; who was Mr Flirt when it came to Rose.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to cope." I admitted to the Doctor, as we sat outside a playground, watching Scarlet.

"You'll be fine. You're a natural." He told me, looking at me for a moment.

"What if I can't do it?" I asked.

"Then you call me, and I'll come running." He said, grinning at me. I chuckled to myself. I lent my head on his arm and sighed.

"Time to go home, I guess." I said. "You stay here with Scarlet, I'll tell them I want to leave." I warned him, making him promise to stay there.

I reached my house, and sighed as I pushed the front door open.

"Eleanor?" My dad called.

"It's me." I said. He rushed to greet me.

"How was your day with your 'friend'?" He asked me, smirking.

"Positively fun. Not that kind of fun." I assured him, as he looked sternly at him. "Listen, dad. I need to talk to you." I said, running a hand through my hair.

"What's up sweetie?" He asked.

"Get mom, I need to talk to you both." I said again, and went into the living room and paced by the fireplace. My mom and dad came and sat on the couch in front of me, both of their faces looking concerned.

"What's up El?" My mom asked.

"Here's the thing... I'm eighteen now. I'm starting university in a couple of weeks, I'm going to have to travel a long way to get there seeing as I'm not staying in halls. I need to live closer if I want to make life easier. I have money, but I just needed to tell you that I'm moving out." I sighed. My dad looked at my mom grimly.

"How do you have money?" My mom asked.

"My friend lent it to me." I said, showing her the wad of cash the Doctor had given me.

"When do you want to move?" My dad asked.

"As soon as possible, I need to settle in and get used to living on my own." I said, awkwardly.

I wouldn't be living on my own, I would have a five year old girl with me.

I couldn't do this.

"Well, you think that through, I'm going to get some boxes to pack." I said, rather coldly, as I left the house, slamming the door behind me.

Who was I kidding? I couldn't look after myself that well, never mind a toddler. I needed help, someone to talk to.

I needed to talk to people I hadn't even thought of for a few months. My best friends.

Admittedly, during college my mind had been elsewhere. I could have been with the Doctor for a couple of days, but gone back to present life a few minutes after I left. (Rarely happened, by the way.) I was exhausted when I got home, and had no time for my friends. Consequently, I only had two best friends.

Lola and Ava were my age, into similar music as me, books, music and didn't ask too many questions about my mysterious double life. They were fun and sweet, and the closest thing to normality I had. I quickly rang the two of them, and thankfully they were both upto grabbing a coffee and talking.

After two years of knowing them, I was going to tell them about the Doctor and my other life.

*

I met with Ava first. Ava looked pretty similar to myself, only she was blonde instead of ginger and her skin was a little more tanned than my deathly pale skin. Lola then arrived. Lola was short, with a mass of brown curly hair. She was very cute, and reminded me of a hamster.

"Should we go get some coffee then?" I asked, smiling yet feeling utterly nervous. They wouldn't believe me. Nobody would.

Only... Nancy did. Nancy believed and she hadn't even seen a mobile phone, anything was possible these days. Maybe they would believe me...

We went to Starbucks and ordered coffee and sat in a booth.

"So, I need to talk to you." I sighed, stirring my coffee with the wooden stick.

"What's up?" Lola asked, blowing on her coffee and trying not to spill it on the table.

"So, there's this guy..." I started, ignoring the smug looks my friends gave me. "Only, he's not normal." My words really sounded intelligent, wow.

"Normal?" Lola asked. "What, is he an alien or something?" She laughed. Wow. Bang on.

"Ha." I laughed, uncomfortably. "Actually, he is." I said. Should I tell them that I am too? Lola started to giggle, thinking I was playing along, but Ava looked at me, with a serious look on her face.

"An alien?" She asked. "I don't see why he couldn't be, have you not been outside these past few years?" She asked Lola, who then stopped laughing as she remembered past events.

"Those things that came at Christmas, that spider thing. Oh my God, the Daleks." She said. "And those metal men. Ellie, are you serious?" She asked me, looking terrified.

"Yes. The Doctor is an alien, but a good alien. He's the one who's saved us from all of those monsters." I said.

"Really?" Ava said, not believing me.

"Really! The Doctor is a Time Lord. He travels through time and saves people, he's like fire, and ice, he's the oncoming storm. He's wonderful." I said, gazing out of the window, my speech becoming slower as I saw the Doctor stood outside Starbucks, a hurt look on his face.

"One minute." I breathed to the girls, and I hopped down from my seat and went to see what was wrong with him.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Are you telling them about me?" He asked, pointing to the two girls, who's faces were plastered against the window, looking out at us.

"I had to tell someone." I said, apologetically.

"You can't just go around telling everyone about me, about you, Eleanor!" He shouted. It was then I noticed that he wasn't with Scarlet.

"Where's Scarlet?" I asked.

"Rose has got her. I was seeing if you were okay. I shouldn't have bothered, how do I know you haven't told everyone about me?" He shouted, walking away from me. I stood, rooted in my spot, not quite knowing what to do.

"Wait!" I said, and ran up to walk with him. "I'm sorry! They're my best friends, I had to tell them. I've told nobody else, I promise." I said, he didn't stop walking.

"I'll see you around." He spat, and walked faster. I decided to give him some space. I defeatedly walked back to Starbucks, and returned to my best friends.

"What happened then?" Lola asked, her eyes wide. "Was that the alien?"

"Yeah, the Doctor." I told her. "Listen, you can't tell anyone about what I told you." I rushed.

"As if we would. I still don't quite believe you." Lola laughed, and Ava nodded, sipping from her drink.

"So what's the deal with you two?" Ava asked. I smiled at that.

"I don't know. We've kissed a few times, I'm hoping that when I become a Time Lady we can be together." I sighed.

"Time Lady?" Lola squeaked, her glasses falling down her nose.

"It's hypothetical." I lied, and she nodded and smiled.

"Shouldn't you go after him?" Ava asked.

"Nah. He'll come back when he feels like it." I said, and prayed silently that it was true.

*

After an hour, I decided enough was enough and went to find the Tardis. Lola and Ava had both gone home, and they had pinky sworn not to tell anybody. I whistled as I walked down various London streets, looking for the Tardis.

I reached the street where it had landed, but nothing was there. He had left me. I sighed, and shook my head. I looked around for Rose or Jack. Nothing. I then gasped.

Scarlet was with Rose, and Rose had gone. I prayed and hoped that they had taken her with them, at least I could count on her safety. I just hoped that she wasn't wandering the London streets. Nah, the Doctor might be angry with me, but he wouldn't abandon a child. Would he?

*

Back at home, I dropped my keys in the key bowl and draped my jacket over the coat hook. I walked into the living room, where my dad and mom were talking avidly to each other.

"Mom, Dad! Change of plans, I'm staying here for a while." I shouted. They both grinned at each other and then me, and my dad hugged me.

"What happened?" Mom asked.

"I couldn't find anywhere I liked. Besides, I like living here too much." I said. I have to admit, not having to look after Scarlet was definitely a weight off my shoulders, but I still felt guilty.

I shouldn't have told Lola and Ava. I smiled at my parents, and ran upstairs.

I took the money out of my denim dungaree dress that I was still wearing, and put it in my money back. I locked it, and tried to ignore it. I would give it back to the Doctor when I next saw him.

At least I knew he wasn't angry at me forever, the future him clearly was quite fond of me.

*

In the morning, I showered and got dressed. I wore a short tea dress and tights, with some dolly shoes. I pinned my hair to the back of my head and got ready for a day on the couch, watching reruns of Friends.

As soon as I walked downstairs, the doorbell rang. I smirked and went to answer the door. I knew who it would be.

Eleven was stood there, his hands in his pockets and his bow tie wonky.

"Eleanor!" He called, his arms wide open as he hugged me.

"Hey!" I laughed, and hugged him back.

"We have to hurry up to the Tardis, I promised Amy we'd go somewhere else soon!" He said, and grabbed my hand, pulling me to the Tardis.

"Who's Amy?" I whispered to the Doctor.

"Not now, wait until we're in the Tardis. Gosh, I forgot how much this version of you is pushy!" He said.

"This version of me?" I questioned, turning on me. He refused eye contact and blushed a little.

"Spoilers." He muttered, and continued to pull me to the Tardis.

Once inside, the a pretty ginger girl turned to me. She was wearing a night gown.

"Hi, I'm Amy." She said, smiling and awkwardly waving. She had a strong, Scottish accent.

"I'm Eleanor." I said, smiling back.

"Oh, I know. He's told me everything about you." She laughed, and I rolled my eyes.

"Nice to meet you anyway." I replied, and she smiled and walked over to the Doctor. I did the same.

He messed about with the controls and set the Tardis into flight. I stroked her quickly before we set off, remembering my ritual.

Once we were safely flying through the vortex, the Doctor opened the Tardis door.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Now do you believe me?" He asked Amy. She looked out in awe.

"Ok, your box is a spaceship. It's really, really a spaceship. We are in space! Whoo! What are we breathing?" She asked, getting over the initial shock pretty quickly.

"I've extended the air shell, we're fine." He said, and looked closer at something below him. "Now that's interesting." He said. I joined him and looked down. We were over a spaceship. "29th Century. Solar flares roast the earth, " he said, before walking to the console. "And the entire human race packs its bags and moves out till the weather improves. Whole nations..." He said.

"Doctor?" Amy asked.

"Migrating to the stars." The Doctor finished.

"Doctor?"

"Isn't that amazing?" He asked.

"Fascinating, Doctor. Amy has a question." I said, tugging on his sleeve.

"Doctor!" She said again. We both turned around, to find her gone. I looked to the door, she was outside, clinging to the roof of the Tardis.

"Well, come on. I've found us a spaceship." The Doctor said. "Wait, first!" He shouted, before grabbing my waist and pressing his lips to mine passionately. We stayed like that for about a minute, our hands roaming through each others hair, before he set me back down and looked at me.I grimaced as my hand slapped his cheek pretty hard. He grabbed his cheek.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"You left me!" I said.

"Where were you?" He asked.

"We just came back from 1941. Nanogenes, Rose, Jack, Scarlet. Where is Scarlet, by the way?" I asked. He didn't answer, he simply bounded over to the console. He brought up the spaceship we were flying over. He pulled down the Tardis monitor.

"This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland- all of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship- that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and... shopping." He said, and Amy chuckled. "Searching the stars for a new home."

"Can we go out and see?" Amy asked.

"Course we can but first, there's a thing. Not that thing with Eleanor, a different thing." He said, after looking at me fondly.

"A different thing?" Amy asked.

"An important different thing. In fact, thing one-" He said, looking through a magnifying glass. "We are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets. Ooh! That's interesting!" He said. I snorted and shook my head at Amy.

"He just lied to you." I said, she grimaced. He pointed to the Tardis screen, which showed a lonely girl, crying.

"So we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah? Cos if they see a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it- they've got to keep filming and let it die." Amy said, watching the little girl and ignoring what I said before. I smirked, seeing what the Doctor was doing. "That's got to be hard. I don't think I could do that. Don't you find that hard- being all, like, detached and cold?" Amy asked.

3RD PERSON

Amy looked at the screen, and saw the Doctor, holding Eleanor's hand, on the screen, with the little girl. "Doctor, Eleanor?" The Doctor looked into the camera and motioned for Amy to join him. She smiled and ran out the Tardis to follow them.

"Welcome to London Market. You are being monitored." A tanony said. Amy looked around and saw an arched glass ceiling, through it she could see the stars. The market was very much like a regular market, full of stalls and booths.

"I'm in the future. Like hundreds.. of years in the future. I've been dead for centuries." Amy contemplated.

"Cheer up." Eleanor said.

"Oh, lovely. You're a cheery one." The Doctor said. The Doctor grabbed Eleanor's hand and Amy's arm and they walked away. "Never mind dead, look at this place. Isn't it wrong?" The Doctor asked.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Use your eyes, notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?" He asked, swinging our arms.

"Is it... the bicycles? Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles." Amy said.

"Says the girl in the nightie." The Doctor said, and I giggled.

"Oh, my God! I'm in my nightie!" she exclaimed.

"Now, come on, look around you. Actually look."

"London Market is a crime free zone." The tannoy said.

"Life on a giant starship, back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state. Excuse me." the Doctor said, and he ran over to a table and took a glass of water from the couple sitting there. He put it on the floor and stared intently at it. He then picked it back up and put it back on the table.

"Sorry. Checking all the water in this area. There's an escaped fish." He said to the couple. I rolled my eyes. "Where was I?" He asked.

This is for LadyyyBuggg99 who said her favourite episode is The Beast Below. If you comment and tell me your favourite episode/s, I might redo them! Please review and comment.

P.S, after the Beast Below, something big is going to happen. Really big. And it relates to Eleanor and her 'other version' as the Doctor said.

-Fay x


	28. Swallow Reflex

"What did you just do with the water?" Amy asked.

"Don't know. I think a lot. It's hard to keep track. Now, police state- do you see it yet?" The Doctor asked, lacing our hands together again. I couldn't help but notice the glare Amy sent at me.

"Where?" Amy asked. The Doctor snapped and pointed to the little girl from before, sitting on a bench and crying.

"There." I said. Everyone was walking past and ignoring her. The three of us walked over to her.

3RD PERSON

A man with a hood and amulet was watching El, Amy and the Doctor.

Meanwhile, in an office, a phone rang and a man watching the trio on a monitor answered the phone. He had grey hair and wire rimmed glasses.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Saw it myself." The hooded man replied, in a phone booth in the market. "Are you going to tell her?"

"We're under orders to tell her." The grey haired man replied. "Well done. Keep tabs on him and her especially."

Back in London market, the hooded man hung up the phone. The grey haired man in the office dialled a new number.

"Sorry to interrupt. There's been a sighting. London block, Oxford Street. A man." The grey haired man said. The receiver of the call was sat in a room, alone, with a red clock laid out around her. A white mask was on the floor near her.

"Did he do the thing? Was he with the girl?" The woman asked.

"Apparently." The grey haired man replied.

"I'll have a look on the monitors." she said. She picked up the mask, stood up and walked past water glasses and a crystal chandelier.

The Doctor, Amy and I were sat on a bench facing the crying girl.

"One little girl crying, so?" Amy asked.

"Crying silently. I mean, children cry 'cos they want attention, 'cos they're hurt or afraid. When they cry silently, it's 'cos they can't stop. Any parents knows that. You know that, don't you El?" The Doctor asked. I nodded, he was talking about Scarlet.

"Are you parents?" Amy asked. I shook my head.

"I looked after this girl once, during the second world war. A friend has got her now." I said, glaring at the Doctor, who looked sheepishly at me. Amy looked sadly at me, but looked back at the Doctor.

"Are you a parent?" she asked. The Doctor looked startled, but ignored the question.

"Hundreds of parents walking past this spot and not one of them's asking her what's wrong. Which means... they already know, and it's something they can't talk about?" I asked the Doctor, happy with my deduction skills.

"Secrets." The Doctor confirmed. "They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. Shadows- whatever they're afraid of- it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state." A life bell rang and the little girl stood up. A figure in a nearby booth turned and watched her.

"Where'd she go?" Amy asked.

"Deck 207, Apple Sesame block, Dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner, Oh," the Doctor said, reaching into his pocket. "This fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her." He handed me the ID, and I showed Amy. "Took me four goes. Ask her about those things- the smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere."

"But they're just things." Amy said.

"They're clean. Everything else here is battered and filthy. Look at this place. But no-one's laid on finger on those booths." The Doctor said. "Not a footprint within two feet of them. Ask Mandy, 'Why are people scared of the things in the booths?"

"No. Hang on- what do I do?" Amy asked. "I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed!" She whispered.

"It's this or Leadworth. What do you think? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose." The Doctor said, ominously. I tried to hide my smirk. "Haha! Gotcha!" He said, and checked his watch. "Meet me back here in half an hour." He said, and grabbed my hand.

"What are you going to do?" Amy asked us.

"What we always do. Stay out of trouble." He said, and stood still. "Badly." He said, and we leapt over a bench and walked away.

"So is this how it works, Doctor? You and Eleanor never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?" Amy called.

"Yes!" The Doctor said.

"Oh, definitely." I grinned. Amy sighed as we walked away.

3RD PERSON

"You're following me. I saw you watching me at the marketplace." Mandy said to Amy.

"You dropped this." Amy said, and handed her the ID card.

"Yeah, when your friends kept bumping into me. The man and the American lady." Mandy replied. Amy looked around the street she was on, which was partly surrounded by barriers.

"What's that?" Amy asked, pointing to the barred off section.

"There's a hole. We have to go back." Mandy informed her.

"A what? A hole?" Amy asked.

In front of the hole was a shop called "Magpie Electricals" Amy started walking over to the gate.

"Are you stupid? There's a hole in the road. We can't go that way!" Mandy called. "There's a travel pipe down the airlocks, if you've got stamps. What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't mind me. Never could resist a 'keep out' sign. What's through there? What's so scary about a hole? Something under the road?" Amy asked, walking closer to the barrier and she sat on the ground and examined the lock. Mandy looked at one of the booths.

"Nobody knows. We're not supposed to talk about it." She said.

"About what?" Amy asked, turning around.

"Below." The girl whispered.

"And because you're not supposed to, you don't?" Amy asked, and pulled a hairpin out of her hair. "Watch and learn." She said, and picked the lock with the pin.

"You sound Scottish." Mandy said.

"I am Scottish. What's wrong with that? Scotland's got to be here somewhere." Amy defended.

"No. They wanted their own ship."

"Hmm. Good for them. Nothing changes." Amy smirked.

"So... how did you get here?" Mandy asked. In the background, a figure in the booth span and showed a rather angry face. It was a demonic face, plastic, like a fortune teller at a carnival.

"Oh, just passing through. You know, with a guy and his sort of girlfriend." Amy said.

"Not your boyfriend then?" The little girl asked, curiously.

Amy stopped. "Oh." She muttered.

"What?" Mandy asked.

"Nothing. I'm just... I'm getting married. Funny how things slip your mind." She said.

"Married?" Mandy asked, curious.

"Yeah, shut up, married. Really, actually married. Almost definitely." Amy snapped.

"When?" Mandy asked.

"Well, it's kind of weird. A long time ago, tomorrow morning. I wonder what I did." Amy said, and the lock opened. "Hey, hey! Result! Coming?" Amy asked the girl.

"No!" Mandy said.

"Suit yourself." Amy said, and as she prepared to go inside the tent covering the hole, Mandy saw the figure in the booth spin and show another face.

"Stop! You musn't do that!" She called. The inside of the tent was dark, but there were red emergency lights flashing. Amy located a torch and switched it on. In the light beam she saw a creature reaching out through the hole, swaying.

"Oh, my God. That's weird. That's..." Amy said. The creature struck with a stinger. Amy shouted and scrambled out of the tent backwards.

She stopped when she noticed she was surrounded by hooded men. One sprayed a gas from his rang into Amy's face, and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

ELEANOR

The Doctor and I climbed down a ladder, and he placed his hand on a wall before leaning in to listen to something.

"Can't be." He muttered. He used his sonic to get a reading. He then looked down and spotted a glass of water on the floor. He bent down to study it.

"The impossible truth in a glass of water." A woman whispered. She was wearing a white mask. "Not many people see it. But you do, don't you Doctor. You as well, Eleanor Thorn?" The woman asked, and the Doctor stood up and grabbed my hand protectively.

"You know us?" He asked.

"Keep your voice down." The woman whispered. "They're everywhere. Tell me what you see in the glass."

"Who says I see anything?" The Doctor asked.

"Don't waste time. At the marketplace, you placed a glass of water on the floor, looked at it, then came straight here to the engine room. Why?" The woman asked.

"No engine vibration on deck. Ship this size, engine this big, you'd feel it. The water would move. So... I thought I'd take a look." He said, and opened a power box on the wall.

"It doesn't make sense." I said. The Doctor nodded in agreement.

"These power couplings, they're not connected. Look. Look- they're dummies, see?" He said, showing me and the masked woman. He crossed the room, pulling me with him, and tapped the wall. "And behind this wall, nothing. It's hollow. If I didn't know better, I'd say there was..." He said.

"No engine at all." The woman whispered.

"But it's working." I said. "The ship is travelling through space. I saw it."

"The impossible truth, Eleanor, Doctor. We're travelling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly." the woman whispered.

"How?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know." The woman whispered. "There's a darkness at the heart of this nation. It threatens every one of us. Help us, Doctor, Eleanor. You're our only hope. Your friend is safe." She said, and handed the Doctor a device. "This will take you to her. Now go, quickly!" She said, and began to walk away.

"Who are you? How do we find you again?" The Doctor called after her.

"I am Liz 10. And I will find you." The woman whispered, turning to us.

There was a crashing sound and we both looked around. When we looked back, Liz 10 was gone.

3RD PERSON

Amy woke up groggily in a chair. She sat up straight and looked straight at the Smiler, the carnival looking creepy figure. In front of her were four television monitors, retro looking.

"Welcome to voting cubicle 330C. Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it." The computer said. Amy stood up and looked around. "The United Kingdom recognises the right to know all of its citizens." Amy looked down at three buttons on the controls. 'Protest' 'Record' and 'Forget' was their labels. "A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll." Amy sat back down. "Name- Amelia Jessica Pond. Age- 1,306."

Amy gasped. "Shut up!" She giggled.

"Marital status..." The computer said, and Amy stopped giggling, and froze in her seat. "Unknown."

Amy flopped back into her seat. On the four screens, a video started. An old man was the presenter.

"You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship, and I am talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may either protest...or forget. If you choose to protest, understand this. If just 1% of the population of this ship do likewise, the programme will be discontinued, with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation - and we hope that you will - then press the "forget" button. All the information I am about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of Starship UK, unburdened by the knowledge of what has been done to save you. Here, then, is the truth about Starship UK, and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls."

Images flashed across the screen. She reacts and hit 'Forget'. She wiped away her tears, a video message played on the screen. It was from herself. Amy was sat watching herself on the screen.

"This isn't a trick. You've got to find the Doctor and Eleanor and get them back to the Tardis. Don't let them investigate. Stop them. Do whatever you have to. Just please, please get the Doctor and Eleanor off this ship!" TV Amy pleaded.

The door to the voting pod opened, and Mandy was waiting for Amy. The Doctor and Eleanor hopped into the doorway.

"Amy?" The Doctor asked, and she turned off the video message. "What have you done?"

He jumped onto the chair and used his sonic on the lamp above.

"Yeah, your basic memory wipe job. Must have erased about 20 minutes." He jumped to the floor.

"But why would I choose to forget?" Amy asked.

"'Cos everyone does. Everyone chooses the 'forget' button." Mandy said.

"Did you?" Eleanor asked the little girl.

"I'm not eligible to vote yet. I'm 12. Any time after you're 16, you're allowed to see the film and make your choice. And then, once every five years..."

"And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned. Democracy in action." The Doctor interrupted and walked back to the four monitors.

"How do you not know about this? Are you Scottish too?" Mandy asked.

"I'm American." Eleanor said, holding her hand up. Mandy gasped.

"American?" She asked.

"I'm way worse than Scottish, or American. I can't even see the movie. Won't play for me." He said.

"It played for me." Amy said.

"The difference being the computer doesn't accept me as human." The Doctor said.

"Why not?" Amy asked, looking at the Doctor. "You look human."

"No, you look Time Lord. We came first." the Doctor said.

"So there are other Time Lords, yeah?" Amy asked. I coughed.

"Eleanor here is half human and half Time Lord. She'll change into a Time Lord by the next time you see her though." The Doctor told Amy, but slapped a hand on his mouth when he realised what he said.

"What?" Eleanor demanded.

"I wonder if it would work for you." Amy said. Eleanor shrugged.

"Do you want to watch it?" The Doctor asked, taking Eleanor's hand. Eleanor nodded. The Doctor kissed her forehead, and everyone backed up out of the booth and let Eleanor sit down.

She sat in the chair, and looked at the figure.

"Welcome to voting cubicle 330C. Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it." The computer said, and Eleanor gulped. "The United Kingdom recognises the right to know of all its citizens. A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll." Eleanor waited for a few seconds.

"Name- Eleanor Ramona Thorn.

Species- Unknown." Eleanor chuckled.

"Age- 1,302." Eleanor smiled to herself.

"Marital status- In relationship." Eleanor giggled at that one. Eleanor watched as the old man presenter turned back onto the screen and repeated the speech that was said to Amy.

The images flashed across the screen again, and Eleanor started to cry. She sobbed into her hands, and smashed the 'forget' button. She wiped away her tears and left the voting booth, forgetting what was said in the video.

She smiled at the three anxious looking people waiting for her.

"What did you do?" The Doctor asked.

"I must have pressed 'forget'" Eleanor said. The Doctor took her hand supporting her.

He then rushed into the voting booth and smashed his hand on the 'protest' button. Amy had followed them back into the booth. The door slammed shut and the Smiler turned around to show his demonic angry face. Eleanor whimpered. The Doctor pulled Amy and El into the corner of the room and the floor slid open.

"We're bringing down the government." The Doctor said, not noticing that Mandy had been left outside.

"Say Wheee!" The Doctor called.

"Aarrggh!" Amy shouted.

"Oh my Goooddddd!" El shouted, still clutching hold of the Doctor's hand as they fell down the chute.

The sign outside the voting cubicle changed from 'occupied' to 'empty'. Mandy watched, sadly waiting for the trio. The masked woman walked behind her, causing Mandy to jump.

"It's all right, love." The woman chuckled, and removed her mask. "It's only me."

The trio fell out of the chute, screaming. The Doctor landed expertly and used his sonic.

"High speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel." Eleanor grumbled.

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

"600 feet down, 20 miles laterally- put's us at the heart of the ship. I'd say... Lancashire. What's this, then- a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave." The Doctor said.

"It's a rubbish dump, and it's minging!" Amy complained, standing up with Eleanor's help.

"Yes, but only food refuse." The Doctor said, and sniffed. "Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

Amy sank down to the ground on her hands and knees. "The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed."

"But feeding what, though?" Eleanor asked.

"It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy." Amy said. The Doctor and El heard a distant rumbling sound and they stood up.

"Er... It's not a floor, it's a..." He said, and put his sonic away, after realising where they were. "So..."

"It's a what?" Amy asked, standing back up.

"The next word is kind of the scary word. Take a moment. Get yourself in a calm place." The Doctor said, taking both El's and Amy's hands. "Go 'ommm'."

"Ommm." Amy and El both said.

"It's a tongue." The Doctor said.

"A tongue?" El asked, smiling sweetly.

"A tongue. A great big tongue." He replied, excitedly. Eleanor's smile faded.

"This is a mouth? This whole place is a mouth? We're in a mouth?" Amy demanded.

"Yes, yes, yes, but on the plus side, roomy." The Doctor suggested, ignoring his soul mate's glares.

"How do we get out?" Amy asked.

"How big is this beastie? It's gorgeous! Blimey, if this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach." the Doctor said. He heard grunting. "Though not right now." He said.

"Doctor, how do we get out?" Eleanor asked.

"Ok, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is..." He said, and saw the sharp teeth in the closed mouth. "Closed for business." He said.

"We can try, though." Amy said.

"No! Stop, don't move!" The mouth heaved, agitated. "Too late. It's started."

"What has?" Amy asked.

"Swallow reflex." Eleanor realised, as she sighed.  
> <p>


	29. Before The Storm

We slipped and fell backwards into the refuse. The Doctor took out his sonic and scanned the mouth walls.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked.

"He's vibrating the chemo-receptors." I told her.

"And you know that because...?" Amy asked.

"My Time Lord memories keep coming back to me, I still have a Time Lord brain; it's just out of sync at the moment." I said, tapping the side of my head.

"And um... chemo what?" Amy asked.

"The eject button." The Doctor said.

"How does a mouth have an eject button?" Amy demanded.

"Think about it!" The Doctor said, and I went over to help him. We heard the creature growl, and on our knees, a wave of bile flowed towards us.

"Jesus Christ." I muttered.

"Right, then." the Doctor said, and straightened his bow tie. "This isn't going to be big on dignity. Geronimo!" He yelled.

"Geronimo!" I whooped, deciding to make light of the situation.

We swished out of the mouth and back in the ship, after being vomited up.

"There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion, and yes, you are covered in sick." The Doctor said.

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

"This is disgusting." I muttered.

"Overspill pipe, at a guess." The Doctor said.

"Oh, God, it stinks." Amy moaned.

"That's not the pipe." The Doctor said.

"Oh." Amy said, and smelt herself. "Whoo! Can we get out?"

"One door, one door switch, one condition." He said, and moved to show the button on the door. "We forget everything we saw. Look familiar?" He asked. "That's the carrot." The lights came on to reveal two Smilers. "Ooh, here's the stick. There's a creature living in the heart of this ship. What's it doing there?" The faces span around to show demonic mad again. "No, that's not going to work on me. So come on. Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?" The Doctor asked them.

The faces span again to show anger. "Oh, stop it. I'm not leaving and I'm not forgetting and what are you fellows going to do about it? Stick out your tongues?"

The booths opened and the two Smilers stood and walked towards The Doctor, Amy and I. We backed away from them.

"Well done." I whispered to him.

"Doctor?" Amy asked, uncertainly.

A woman suddenly walked behind the Smilers and shot them with her pistol. I sighed in relief. She twirled her pistol around her finger and placed it in her holster.

"Suave." I muttered.

"Look who it is. You look a lot better without your mask." The Doctor said. Of course! It was the woman from before, who gave us the tracking device to find Amy.

"You must be Amy. Liz. Liz 10." Liz 10 said.

"Hi." Amy said.

Liz 10 shook Amy's hand. "Eurgh!" She said, and wiped her hand on her cloak. "Lovely hair, Amy. Same to you, Eleanor. Lovely ginger colours. Shame about the sick." She walked towards the door. "You know Mandy, yeah?" She asked, putting her arms around Mandy's shoulder. "She's very brave."

"How did you find us?" The Doctor asked.

"Stuck my gizmo on you both." Liz 10 said, throwing a device at him. "Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?" She asked.

"You're over 16, you voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it." I said.

"No, never forgot. Never voted. Not technically a British subject." She replied.

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know Eleanor and I?" He asked.

"You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger and his girlfriend? MO consistent with higher alien intelligence, both of you, hair of an idiot..." She said. The Doctor pointed at her like he was set to argue, but instead he ran a hand through his dripping hair instead. "I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was."

"Your family?" The Doctor asked. One of the Smilers began to move, I gasped and jumped back.

"They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move." Liz said, and we left the overspill.

"The Doctor and Eleanor. Old drinking buddies of Henry XII. Tea and scones with Liz II. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Both of you knighted and exiled on the same day. And so much for the Virgin Queen, you bad, bad boy!" She said.

"Liz 10?" The Doctor asked. I grasped onto what he was thinking.

"Liz 10, yeah. Elizabeth X. And down!" She said, and turned and shot both the Smilers, they both fell to the ground. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule." She said.

Liz led us to another corridor, which was the base of a vator shaft.

"There's a high speed Vator through there." She said, and we looked into a caged area. "Oh yeah, there's these things. Any ideas?" She asked, regarding to the two creature things in the cage.

"Doctor, I saw one of these up top. There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through, like a root." Amy said.

"Exactly like a root. It's all one creature- the same one we were inside- reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship." The Doctor said.

"What? Like an infestation?" Liz asked.

"Someone's helping it. Feeding it." I said.

"Feeding my subjects to it. Come on. We've got to keep moving." she said, and stormed off, angry, with Mandy following her.

"Doctor?" Amy asked.

"Oh, Amy." He said, he looked sympathetically at the creature as it crashed onto the bars. "We should never have come here."

3RD PERSON

The grey haired man was watching the Doctor, Eleanor, Amy and Liz 10 on his monitor.

"Winder division one. Ten has penetrated to the lower levels. Initiate the protocol." He said into a microphone.

ELEANOR

The Doctor and I walked hand in hand through a maze of glasses on the floor of Liz's bedroom.

"Why all the glasses?" The Doctor asked.

"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what." She said, sitting on her bed.

The Doctor bent down and picked up a mask. "A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?" He asked.

"Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this- my entire reign. And you've achieved more in one afternoon." She replied.

"How old were you when you came to the thrown?" I asked.

"40. Why?" She asked.

"What, you're 50 now? No way!" Amy said, tying her hair up. Amy and Mandy were sat at the end of her bed.

"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."

The Doctor and I too sat on the bed, still hand in hand, and he was still holding the mask. "And you always wear this in public?" He asked.

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting." Liz sighed.

"Air balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, cos it's perfectly sculpted to your face." He replied.

"Yeah, so what?" She asked.

"Oh Liz. So everything." The Doctor sighed. The bedroom door suddenly opened and four hooded men entered the room.

"What are you doing? How dare you come in here!" Liz exclaimed.

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now." One of the men said.

"How can they be Smilers?" Liz asked.

"Half Smiler, half human." I said. Oh the irony.

"Whatever you creatures are, I am still your Queen. On whose authority is this done?" Liz asked to its face.

"The highest authority, Ma'am." The Smiler replied.

"I AM the highest authority."

"Yes ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am."

"Where?" Liz asked.

"The Tower, Ma'am." The Smiler replied.

We were escorted to a large stone, medieval looking room, which contained two high tech machines. There was a grating on the floor and we could see more of the creatures.

"Doctor, where are we?" Amy asked.

"You ask that a lot, don't you?" I asked. She smiled at me, I grinned back.

"The lowest point of Starship UK." He replied and span around. "The dungeon."

"Ma'am." A grey haired man said.

"Hawthorne! So this is where you hide yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do." Liz 10 said.

There's children down here. What's all that about?" The Doctor asked Hawthorne.

"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky." Hawthorne said.

"Oh great! Thank God for that. It doesn't matter that this system is totally corrupt, at least we were spat back out again!" I shouted.

"Calm down, Donna." The Doctor smirked at me, I giggled back. "Torture Chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it?" He asked, looking at some of the equipment. "Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle." He said, and I rolled my eyes at him.

I followed him and Liz to what looked like an open well with railings around it. Inside there was something very much alive.

"What's that?" Liz asked.

"Well, like I say, depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain centre of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly..." He replied.

"Or?" Liz asked.

"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator. Starship UK's go-faster button." I said, popping my lips as I finished the sentence. The thought repulsed me.

"I don't understand." Liz said.

"Don't you? Try, go on. The spaceship that could never fly, no vibration on deck. This creature - this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading - it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving." An electrical beam shot down into the exposed brain. "Tell you what." The Doctor said, and moved to a different well and lifted the grate. "Normally, it's above the range of human hearing." One of the extensions of the creature broke free. I rushed over to his side. "This is the sound none of you wanted to hear." He said, and used the sonic. We could hear the creature's call.

"Stop it." Liz said. "Who did this?" Liz asked Hawthorne.

"We act on instructions from the highest authority." Hawthorne replied.

"I am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now. I said now!" She shouted. Nobody moved. "Is anyone listening to me?" She asked.

"Liz, your mask." The Doctor said, he was STILL holding the mask.

"What about my mask?"

"Look at it, it's old. At least 200 years old I'd say." He said, and tossed the mask to the Queen.

"Yeah, it's an antique. So?"

"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over 200 years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not 50. Nearer 300. And it's been a long old reign." The Doctor replied.

"Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years." She insisted.

"Ten years. And the same ten years over and over again." He said, and took her hand. "Always leading you..." He showed her the voting area. "Here." The Doctor said, showing her the buttons 'forget' and 'abdicate.'

Liz 10 turned to Hawthorne. "What have you done?"

"Only what you have ordered. We work for you Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He turned on the screen.

"If you are watching this... If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower of London." A recording of Liz said. The real Liz sat down. "The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space, and, according to legend, guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. 'And what we have done to it 'breaks my heart." We were all watching intently. "The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us, and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the star whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the "forget" button." Liz looked at the button. "Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button." She looked at the 'abdicate' button. "Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision." The recording finished.

"I voted for this?" Amy said. "Why would I do that?"

"Why would I do that?" I demanded. I would never allow that.

"Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong. You don't ever decide what I need to know." He said. I walked over and took his hand, my form of apology.

"I don't even remember doing it." Amy said, I nodded in agreement.

"You did it. That's what counts." The Doctor counts.

"I'm... I'm sorry." Amy said.

"Doctor." I said, and he looked at me. "I'm sorry too. We were emotional." I said, he smiled gently at me and kissed my hand.

"Oh, I don't care." He said to me, and took my hand. "When I'm done here, you're going home." He said to Amy. I dropped his hand.

"What?" I demanded. He didn't look at me.

"Why? Because I made a mistake? One mistake? I don't even remember doing it. Doctor!" Amy exclaimed.

"Yeah. I know, you're only human." The Doctor said, examining some instruments. I walked over to Amy.

"If you go, I go. He'll never agree to it, don't worry." I assured her, she smiled at me.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked.

"The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it." The Doctor said.

"That'll be killing it." Amy said.

"Look, three options. One: I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two: I kill everyone on this ship. Three: I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, cos I won't be the Doctor any more." He replied. I glared at him, then folded my arms and stared at the floor.

"There must be something we can do, some other way." I muttered.

"Nobody talk to me. Nobody human has anything to say to me today!" He said.

"Pathetic." I muttered.

"No, Eleanor. What's pathetic is the fact that you don't know me. After all this time." He said.

"You didn't tell me what I had to press! I didn't leave myself a message, I didn't tell myself anything, for all I know, I did it because I thought it would get me the hell out of there back to you!" I screamed, and turned back around, ignoring him. I joined Amy and Mandy leaning on a wall. We watched the Doctor work. Suddenly, three young children entered the room.

"Timmy!" Mandy called, and ran up to him. "You made it, you're okay!" She said. Timmy didn't reply. "It's me- Mandy." She told him.

3RD PERSON

The two children stopped in front of a feeler of the Star Whale, Mandy had her back to it. The feeler reached Mandy and Amy and El moved forwards it, worried. Instead of hurting her, the feeler stroked Mandy on the back, and allowed her to pat it.

Amy began to understand.

Amy's montage

"C'mon, use your eyes. Notice everything. Notice everything."- Doctor

Amy remembered seeing Mandy crying, as she heard parts of Liz's explanations.

"Our children screamed. It came, like a miracle." -Liz

"It won't eat the children."- Hawthorne

"Children screamed. Then it came. It's the last of its kind." -Liz

Amy remembered the Doctor with Mandy, the feelers in the Vator shaft, the glasses of water.

"Just me now, until she changes." -Doctor

"The last of its kind." -Liz

"Is this how it works, Doctor? Never interfere with other peoples or planets"- Amy

"Children screamed." -Liz

She remembered the Doctor as a child.

"..unless it's children crying." -Amy

"The last of it's kind." -Liz

"Yes." -Doctor

"It won't eat the children." -Hawthorne.

Amy remembered the children playing when they arrived.

"Then it came. Like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales." -Liz

Amy watched Mandy and Timmy petting the feeler.

"Doctor, stop!" She cried. "Whatever you're doing, stop it now!" She said, walking over to the Doctor, pulling Eleanor with her. She walked to Liz 10. "Sorry, your Majesty, going to need a hand." She said, and led her to El and the buttons.

"Amy, no! No!" The Doctor said, rushing over. Amy forced Liz's hand onto the 'abdicate' button. The whale bellowed and the whole ship shook, causing havoc everywhere.

"Amy, what have you done?" Eleanor asked.

"Nothing at all. Am I right?" Amy asked.

"We've increased speed." Hawthorne said.

"Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot. Gotta help." Amy said, smiling.

"It's still here? I don't understand." Liz said.

"The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it - that was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead, no future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind... Well, not for much longer..." She said, looking at Eleanor. "But you couldn't just stand there and watch children die." Amy said.

*

ELEANOR

The Doctor was stood on his own on the observation deck, looking out at the starship. I was sat a few feet away from him, ignoring him for what he said to me about not knowing him. I simply sat on the floor, ignoring him.

I knew everything about him. I couldn't explain it, but I knew him inside and out. I could tell when he needed comforting, when he needed space, when he was angry, when he was surprised, and he knew me exaclty the same way. It's like we shared a bond. And he just denied all of that because Amy and I made a mistake? Pathetic.

Amy walked over to the Doctor.

"From her Majesty." She said, handing him the mask. "She says there will be no more secrets on Starship UK." She smiled.

"Amy. You could have killed everyone on this ship." the Doctor said.

"You could have killed a Star Whale." Amy said.

"And you saved it. I know, I know." The Doctor said, turning to her.

"Amazing, though, don't you think? The Star Whale. All that pain and misery... And loneliness." She said, looking sideways at my Doctor. "And it just made it kind."

"But you couldn't have known how it would react." The Doctor replied.

"You couldn't, but I've seen it before. Very old and very kind, and the very, very last. Sound a bit familiar?" She asked. "But you're not on your own now, you've got Eleanor." She said, gesturing to me. "That half and half American sat on her own is on her own because of you. Go and sort it out." She said, and pushed him towards me. I gritted my teeth.

He walked slowly over to me and sat down next to me.

"You're ridiculous. You're pathetic and stupid and stupider! You think I don't know you?" I asked, tears rolling down my face. "I know you more than I know myself! And I don't know why but you're STUPID!" I shouted, but he clamped his mouth to mine to shut me up. Not that I objected.

He grabbed my face, to stop me from pulling back, and he kissed me deeply for a short while.

I pulled back, in a daze. He was a damn good kisser. "Stupid." I said, one last time. And he pecked my lips as a warning.

"You want to know why you know me more than you know yourself, and vice versa?" He asked. I nodded, my face still between his hands. He bent down a little.

"Soulmates." He whispered into my ear, and he dropped my face and walked back over to Amy, who was grinning but trying not to show it.

Why were people always happy when it came to our relationship?

We were walking back to the Tardis, the Doctor and I swinging our hands, and Amy walking next to us.

"Shouldn't we say goodbye? Won't they wonder where we went?" She asked.

"For the rest of their lives. Oh, the songs they'll write! Never mind them. Big day tomorrow." the Doctor said.

"Sorry, what?" Amy asked, freezing in her spot for a second.

"It's always a big day tomorrow." I explained. "We've got a time machine. He skips the little ones." I said, grinning. The Doctor unlocked the Tardis.

"You know what I said about getting back for tomorrow morning... Have you ever run away from something because you were scared, or not ready, or just... Just because you could?" Amy asked. I looked at her, and down at her left hand.

"Once... a long time ago." The Doctor said, smiling fondly at me.

"What happened?" Amy asked. A phone began to ring.

"Hello!" The Doctor said.

"Right. Doctor. There's something I haven't told you. You either, Eleanor. No, hang on. Is that a phone ringing?"

We walked into the Tardis.

"People phone you?" She asked.

"Well, it's a phone box. Would you mind?" He asked.

Amy picked up the phone. "Hello? Sorry, who? No, seriously. Who?" She asked, then muffled the phone against her shoulder. "Says he's the Prime Minister. First the Queen, now the Prime Minister. Get about, don't you?"

"Which Prime Minister?" He asked, and motioned for me to pull a lever. I did.

"Er, which Prime Minister?" Amy asked. "The British one." She told the Doctor.

"Which British one?" I asked.

"Which British one?" Amy asked. Her eyes widened and she passed the phone to the Doctor... my soulmate.

"Winston Churchill for you."

"Oh! Hello, dear. What's up?" He asked. "Don't worry about a thing, Prime Minister. We're on our way." And he hung up.

I laughed. "Right, I'll be leaving you for that then." I said, and kissed Amy's cheek.

"You're leaving?" She asked.

"It's what she does." The Doctor said, landing the Tardis quickly and opening the door for me. Before I could leave he bent down and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"Bye El." He whispered. I looked into his eyes for a moment before nodding and leaving his ship.

*

I'm just going to reply to some comments-

-SHinju- I shall keep your favourites in mind! And you're right about the Time Lord thing being soon :) Thank you for reviewing!

-LadyyyBuggg99 You're very welcome :) And thank you! :D

Please keep the comments and reviews coming beautifuls!

Fay x


	30. Bad Wolf

ELEANOR

For the first time in a long time, I had a week to myself. For eight days, I saw nothing, and heard nothing, of the Doctor. Any of them. I must admit, I was worried that I'd been forgotten about; but I highly doubted that I had.

I'd spent whole days in bed, I'd gone shopping with Lola and Ava, I did what girls do. I had fun, and went out at night. You'd have thought I was happy.

But I missed him, with my entire being. I couldn't see anything without it reminding me of him. When we went shopping, I saw shop dummies and thought of Autons. I walked through London and thought of Nancy and Jamie. I couldn't even drink a glass of water without thinking of an escaped fish somewhere.

I was happy, but I pined for him.

So, you can guess at how happy I was when I was wandering down a street, a cup of coffee from Starbucks in my hand, and BANG! The Tardis appeared. I threw the almost full cup of coffee into the bin, and sprinted towards the majestic ship.

Rose was the first to open the door, hand in hand with Scarlet. The little girl was dressed in jeans and a cute t-shirt, with converse on. I smiled, reminding me of the Tenth Doctor. She spotted me before Rose did, and her face lit up. She pulled on Rose's hand, and then Rose spotted me.

She looked down, upset. I walked over, hands in the pockets of my shorts.

"Hey." I said, and ruffled Scarlet's hair, which was tied into a pony tail. "She's getting used to the Tardis, then?" I asked.

"Yeah." Rose said, smiling slightly. "Well, we've only been to one place. And that was Cardiff." Rose said.

"How come?" I asked.

"Long story. A Slitheen tried to take over the world again. Elementary." She said, still looking not like her cheery self.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"Mickey, he's gone." She said, sniffing. I put a hand on her arm and smiled, trying to comfort her. She smiled back.

"Is he still mad at me?" I asked. She nodded, grimacing slightly.

"He's been in a mood all day. Snapping at us and that. Please make up with him before he kills someone." She said, and giggled slightly.

"I'll try my best." I sighed, and walked into the Tardis.

Captain Jack Harkness looked up at me and grinned a heart breaking grin. I grinned back as he stood up to hug me.

I heard the Doctor before I saw. He grunted at the exact same time I hugged Jack. I dropped Jack's hug and turned around.

He was stood, arms folded, leaning against a Tardis pillar. I didn't say anything.

"Well?" He asked.

"Well what? You left me, without even saying goodbye, taking Scarlet, and LEFT ME." I said, not realising I was repeating myself. The Doctor sighed.

"You told your little friends about me, I didn't say you could." He replied.

"What, I need permission from you to tell MY friends about what I am? You're not the only Time Lord around here, you know?" I demanded. He snorted.

"Actually, I am." He said, and walked over to the console.

"An apology would be nice." I noted, and walked next to him.

"You're not getting one." He retorted.

"Well then, neither are you." I snapped. He stopped messing about with the controls and looked at me.

"What?" I snapped. He shook his head, smirking.

"What?" I asked again.

"You're as stubborn as me." He said, and pressed another control.

I sighed and walked away. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him. He bent down slightly so that he could look into my eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said, clearly and deeply. I nodded and looked down.

"I'm sorry too." I replied. He grinned, a real and proper grin, and pulled me into a hug.

"Now, that's more like it!" Jack exclaimed, and Rose giggled and slapped his arm. Scarlet slapped Jack too. "Oh, God. Now there's three girls." Jack complained. I snorted. The Doctor wrapped his fingers through mine, and smiled at me.

-

"What is it? What's happening?" A northern voice roared, causing my eyes to open wide. I sat up, holding my head. I looked around, we were in a small cupboard.

"Doctor." I groaned, and he bent down and helped me up. The room was spinning incredibly fast, it was nauseating. We both started to frantically feel the walls, trying to find a way out. We both slammed our hands on a wall at the same time and we fell through the door. We landed flat on our faces.

I looked up, at least we weren't spinning anymore. The room was brightly coloured, with drawings and paintings on the wall.

"Oh my God!" A blond woman said, rushing over. She was pretty, with two buns on either side of her head. "I don't believe it! Why'd they put you both in there? They never said you were coming!" She exclaimed, with a thick cockney accent. We tried to stand up, but we were both disorientated.

"But what happened? We were.." The Doctor said. The woman helped us both up.

"Careful now... Oh!" She exclaimed, as the Doctor's legs gave way and he fell back down. I let her pick him up, I felt like doing the exact same thing.

"Oh! Mind yourself! Oh, that's the transmat. Scrambles your head- I was sick for days." She said, and she helped him to stand again. "You all right?" She asked.

"Doctor, are you Ok?" I asked, concern showing in my eyes. He grunted at me, and finally stood straight. We grabbed each others hands subconsciously.

"So! What're your names then?" The woman asked, smiling sweetly.

"The Doctor, I think..." The Doctor said.

"Eleanor..." I said.

"Ooh! You're American! Lovely!" She exclaimed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You got chosen." The woman said, grinning.

"Chosen for what?" The Doctor asked.

"You're a house mate. You're in the house! Isn't that brilliant?" The woman asked. She laughed, and I could tell she truly was happy about it.

"That's not fair!" A camp voice shouted over.

I looked further into the house, two other people were sat on a purple couch in front of a TV. There was an eye logo on the screen. I recognized it, but couldn't quite say what it was.

"We've got eviction in five minutes! I've been here for all nine weeks, I've followed the rules, I haven't had a single warning, and then they come swanning in!" The camp man exclaimed. He gestured to us, looking angry.

"If they keep changing the rules, I'm gonna protest. I am. You just watch me, I'm... I'm gonna paint the walls." Another said.

I looked around, and noticed a moving camera turning to look at us. Theme music played in the room, and I realised where we were.

Big Brother. I grinned, I didn't especially like the show, but I always thought it looked fun.

"WOULD THE DOCTOR AND ELEANOR PLEASE COME TO THE DIARY ROOM?" Big Brother asked. The Doctor looked up to see where the voice was coming from. We turned around and a silver door opened.

We walked over to the door, and went inside. We both squeezed onto the bright red chair, still holding hands, and we probably looked a bit useless.

"YOU ARE LIVE ON CHANNEL FORTY FOUR THOUSAND. PLEASE DO NOT SWEAR." Big Brother said. I giggled.

"You have GOT to be kidding." The Doctor said.

3RD PERSON

Rose was led on the floor of a dark room, with Scarlet led next to her. A beam of light was shining on them both, showing their entwined hands.

Rose started to groggily wake up, and she dropped Scarlet's hand. When she noticed the little girl was passed out, she woke up a little bit more.

"What happened?" She asked, groggily.

A man was bending down, observing them both.

"It's all right... it's the transmat. Does your head in." He said. "They don't usually bring children though." He said, frowning. "She'll probably have to wait."

Rose looked around, blearily.

"Get a bit of amnesia. What's your names?" The man asked.

"Rose, and she's Scarlet. But... where's Eleanor? The Doctor?" Rose asked.

"Just remember- do what the Android says. Don't provoke it. The Android's word is law." He warned her. Rose helped the little girl up as she started to wake up.

"What d'you mean, android? Like... a robot?" She asked, brushing Scarlet's hair out of her eyes.

"Positions, everyone! Thank you!" The Floor Manager called, and Rose looked around.

"Come on. Hurry up!" The man said, helping the two girls to their feet. "Steady, steady..."

Rose was holding onto him for support.

"I was travelling. With the Doctor, and Eleanor, and a man called Captain Jack...? The Doctor wouldn't just leave me..." Rose said.

"That's enough chat! Positions! Final call!" The floor manager yelled, anxiously. She was standing next to an inactive robot, which was being fixed by technicians. There was a number of podiums surrounding the robot. It was The Weakest Link. On each podium was a scared looking contestant.

"Good luck!" The floor manager called, smiling slightly.

"But I'm not supposed to be here..." Rose said, scared.

"Well, it says Rose on the podium..." The man replied, as the lights flashed on and her name appeared on the podium.

"Come on!" He called, and ran over to his podium.

Rose, confused, hid Scarlet behind her and walked over to her podium. She uneasily took her place behind it.

"Hold on... I must be going mad." She muttered. She looked around, at the robot with the technicians and the Floor Manager.

"It can't be... This looks like the..." She muttered.

"Annedroid activated!" The floor manager called. The Annedroid sprang to life, and raised her face it. It was a robotic version of Anne Robinson!

"Oh, my God. The Android. The Anne... Droid." She said, realising.

"Welcome, the The Weakest Link." Annedroid said, in a robotic voice. The theme music played.

*

In a white and clinical room, Jack opened his eyes to two robotic faces and voices.

"Here we go again. We've got our work cut out for us." One of the robots, Trin-e said.

"I don't know- he's sort of handsome. That's a good lantern jaw." The other said, Zu-zana.

(Trinny and Susana) Jack fully woke up. He was lying on a chair in the What Not To Wear studio. The two robots were examining him. He blinked.

"Lantern jaws are so last year." Trin-e said.

"Sorry... nice to meet you ladies, but where exactly am I?" Jack asked.

"We're giving you a brand new image." Trin-e said, brightly.

"Oh, hold on, I was with the Doctor-" Jack said. Jack realised what the robot said and looked up at them in alarm. "Why, is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?" He asked.

"It's all very twentieth century- where DID you get that denim?" Zu-zana asked.

"Little place in Cardiff... it was called the Top Shop." Jack replied, smugly.

"Oh- design classic." Zu-zana said, gliding past him.

"But we're gonna have to find you some new colours. Maybe get rid of that 'Oklahoma Farm Boy' thing you've got going on..." Trin-e said.

Jack stood up and faced them, his hands on his hips.

"Just stand still and let the Defabricator work its magic." Zu-zana assured him.

"What's the Defabricator?" Jack asked.

They demonstrated for him. A blue beam of light hit Jack's clothes and they evaporated. All of them. He stood completely naked. He didn't seem to care.

"Okay... Defabricator. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?" Jack asked.

"Absolutely!" Trin-e and Zu-zana said in unison.

"Ladies..." Jack said, glancing down at his body with a smug smile on his face. "Your viewing figures just went up."

*

ELEANOR

The Doctor was trying to open a door with his sonic, I was sat watching him, bored. He stopped and turned to the woman, who was stood next to him.

She was sweet, but she was definitely flirting with MY Doctor.

"I can't open it." He told me.

"It's got a deadlock seal. Ever since Big Brother Five Hundred and Four when they all walked out...?" The woman said. The Doctor didn't answer, and she turned to me to ask with her eyes if he was okay. The Doctor walked swiftly to the other side of the room, I slowly stood up and followed him. He was looking for other exits.

"You must remember that." The woman said.

"What about this?" The Doctor asked, pointing to a mirror..

"Oh, that's exoglass. You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through." She replied.

"Don't tempt him." I sighed, as he scanned the edges with his sonic.

"So, are you two like a... thing?" The woman asked, gesturing wildly to the both of us with a finger.

"Sort of, yeah." The Doctor replied. It shocked me to hear his say yes.

"Really?" She asked, also sounding surprised.

"Sort of, yeah." The Doctor said again. I smiled smugly at the woman, who actually wasn't looking at me. The woman sighed and leant against the wall, next to him.

"I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you must've been watching. Do people like me? Lynda with a Y. Not Linda with an I... She got forcibly evicted because she damaged the camera." Lynda said, lowering her voice.

The Doctor and I nodded, grinning in a fake and uninterested way.

"Am I popular?" Lynda asked.

"I don't remember." He said, indifferently.

"Same." I rushed.

"Oh, but does that mean I'm nothing? Some people get this far just 'cos they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?" Lynda asked, disappointed. The Doctor looked at her, with a pitiful look on his face

"No... You're... You're nice." He said. I growled gently. "You're sweet. Everybody thinks you're sweet." He grinned.

"Oh! Is that right? Is that what I am?" She asked, flattered. I couldn't help but grin at her reaction.

"Yeah. Dead sweet!" The Doctor said, my grin faded.

"Thank you!" Lynda said, touched. The Doctor looked back at a window, it was solid black.

"It's just a wall. Isn't there supposed to be a garden or something?" I asked, sitting on the floor and slouching my back against the wall by the Doctor's feet.

The Doctor walked over to the window and Lynda followed.

"Don't be daft. No-one's got a garden anymore. Who's got a garden?" Lynda asked, before gasping. "Don't tell me YOU'VE got a garden!" She said.

"No, we've just got the Tardis..." He said, and span around, as though remembering something. "I remember."

"That's the amnesia! So what happened? Where did they get you both?" Lynda asked.

"We'd just picked Eleanor up... we apologized... we made up... We were together, we were laughing, and then... there was this light..." He said, and as he said it, I remembered too. "This white light coming through the walls, and then..." He said. "And then we woke up here."

"We were holding hands. That might be why we came together." I suggested.

"Yeah, that's the transmat beam. That's how they pick the housemates." Lynda said.

"Oh, Lynda with a Y. Sweet little Lynda..." The Doctor said, I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. He walked across the room. "It's worse than that."

"We're not just passing travellers. No stupid little transmat beam gets inside my ship. That beam was fifteen million times more powerful, which means... this isn't just a game. There's something else going on." He said, and I walked and joined him. He stepped to the camera, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him.

"Well! Here's the latest update from the Big Brother House. We're getting out." He said, looking into the camera. "We're gonna find our friends, and then we're gonna find YOU." He said, and placed a finger on the camera.

3RD PERSON

"17.. 16.. 15.. thank you people, transmitting in 12... 11... 10..." The floor manager said. Agitated, Rose turned to Rodrick, the man who had helped Scarlet and her.

"But I need to find the Doc-" She said. Rodrick pushed her impatiently.

"Just- shut up and play the game!" He stressed.

"All right then. What the hell? I'm gonna play to win!" Rose said, smiling. Rodrick looked at her as if she was crazy. Scarlet was clinging to her legs from behind, completely hidden from the Annedroid.

"3, and cue!" The floor manager called. The Annedroid burst into life again.

"Let's play, The Weakest Link! Start the clock."

"Agorax- the name of which basic food stuff is an anagram of the word 'beard'?" -Annedroid

"Bread." -Agorax

"Correct. Fitch- in the Pan Traffic Calendar, which month comes after Hoob?" -Annedroid

"Is it... Clavadoe?" -Fitch.

"No, Pandoff. Rose- in maths, what is 258 minus 158?" -Annedroid

"One hundred!" -Rose. Rose looked pleased with herself.

"Correct. Rodrick-" -Annedroid

"Bank." -Rodrick.

"Which letter of the alphabet appears in the world 'dangle' but not in the word 'gland'?" -Annedroid

"E." -Rodrick

"Correct! Colleen- in social security, what D is the name of the payment given to Martian Drones?" -Annedroid

"Default." -Colleen

"Correct. Broff- the Great Cobalt Building is built on the reamins of which famous Old Earth Institute?"- Annedroid

"T- Touchdown." -Broff

"No- Torchwood." -Annedroid. Rose laughed, and Broff looked terrified.

"Agorax- in language, all five examples of which type of letter appear in the word 'faceteious'?" -Annedroid

"Vowels." -Agorax

"Correct. Fitch- in biology, which blood cells contain iron- red or white?" -Annedroid

"Um... White." - Fitch. Rose giggled, Fitch looked distraught.

"No, red. Rose- in the holovid series 'Jupiter Rising', the Grexnik is married to whom?" - Annedroid

"How should I know?" Rose laughed.

"No, the correct answer is Lord Drayvole." -Annedroid. "Rodrick- in maths, what is nine squared?"

Meanwhile, programmers were watching Rose on monitors.

"Why is she laughing?" The woman asked. "Oh, my God... I don't think she knows..."

"And I've got two housemates who appeared out of nowhere. I told you- it's like the game's running itself." The male replied, leaning over her shoulder.

*

Jack was stood admiring himself in the mirror, flexing his muscles. He was wearing black leather trousers and white vest.

"It's the buccaneer look. Little dash of pirate and just a tweak of President Shwarzenegger." Trin-e said.

"Nah, not sure about the vest. What about a little bit of colour to lift it?" Jack asked.

"Absolutely not. Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and the black look boring. Now, let's talk jackets." Zu-zana said.

"I kinda like the first one..." Jack said.

"No, that's a bit too much Hell's Angel. I think I like the shorter one." Zu-zana said. Jack shrugged into the jacket in front of the mirror.

"Look, waist length, nice and slimming, shows off the bum." she continued. She tapped his bum and Jack turned to look at her.

"Works for me." He smiled.

"Once we've got an outfit, we can look at the face. Ever thought about cosmetic surgery?" Trin-e asked.

"Well, I've considered it, yeah. A little lift around the eyes... tighten up the jaw line... what do you think?" He asked.

"Oh, let's have a BIT more ambition." She said, and took the cap of her forearm to reveal a chainsaw underneath. "Let's do something, cutting edge."

"So, Rose. What do you actually do?" The Annedroid asked.

"I just travel about a bit. Bit of a... tourist, I suppose." She said, relaxed.

"Another way of saying 'unemployed'." The Annedroid said.

"No." Rose said.

"Have you got a job?" The Annedroid asked.

"Well... not really, no, but...-"

"Then you are unemployed! And yet, you've still got enough money to buy peroxide. Why Fitch?" She asked.

"Uh... I think she got a few of the questions wrong." Rose said, fiddling with her board that read 'Fitch.'

Fitch stared at the ground, with tears running down her cheeks. Rose saw and looked uncomfortable.

"...That's all." Rose said.

"Oh, you'd know all about that." The Annedroid replied.

"Well yeah, but I can't vote for myself, so it had to be Fitch..." She said, her smile dropping. Fitch was sobbing. Rose looked disturbed and confused.

"I'm sorry... that's the game. That's how it works... I had to vote for someone..." Rose said to Fitch.

Fitch ignored her.

"Let me try again... it was the lights and everything- I couldn't think." Fitch said to the Annedroid.

"In fact, with three answers wrong, Boff was the weakest link in that round, but- it's votes that count." The Annedroid said.

"I'm sorry! Oh please... Oh God, help me!" Fitch begged, sobbing louder. Rose looked at her, completely in the dark. Rodrick looked away, uncomfortable. Broff sobbed into his board.

Rose looked at the Annedroid.

"Fitch- you are the weakest link. Goodbye!" She said. The Annedroid's mouth opened, to reveal a gun. Without a moments hesitation, she shot a bolt of golden light at Fitch. It hit Fitch, and she was gone. The gun retreated back into the Annedroid's mouth, which then shut. Rose looked back, having hidden her face, only to see smoke.

"And we've gone to the adverts. Back in three minutes..." The floor manager said.

"Wassat? What's just happened?" Rose asked Rodrick, open mouthed.

"She was the weakest link- she gets disintegrated." Rodrick said, wiping his board clean. Rose gulped and Rodrick rolled his eyes.

"Blasted into atoms." He said, with an air of dismissal.

"But I voted for her. Oh, my God. This is sick!" Rose exclaimed, picking Scarlet up.

The Annedroid turned to Rose.

"Children are not permitted in this area." And the gun protruded out of the mouth once more. The golden beam shot out and blasted the five year old into atoms. Rose yelped.

"Oh, my God!" She cried, starting to sob at the smoke that was in her arms. "That was a kid! You just shot a kid!" She sobbed. Rodrick looked down, a tear also snaking down his cheek, which he wiped away quickly. "You're sick! I'm not playing this!" Rose cried.

"I'm not playing!" Broff whimpered. "I... I can't do it." He said, and leapt of his podium to run for it. The Annedroid slowly turned to him, and shot at him too.

"You are the weakest link. Goodbye."

Rose stared, open mouthed at the Annedroid, disgusted and distraught at the loss of the child.

"Don't try to escape. I know your kids been shot. But you have to stay here. It's play... or die." Rodrick warned her.

ELEANOR

Everyone was sat in front of the TV, the Doctor and I were stood at a door, where he was sonicing away at it.

"Doctor, Ellie, they said ALL the housemates must gather on the sofa. You've got to." Lynda called.

"Busy getting out, thanks." The Doctor replied.

"But if you don't obey, then all the housemates get punished." She objected. I sighed and pulled him to the couch.

"Maybe we'll get voted out." I said. "Oh my God! What if you get voted out and I don't, what the hell am I going to do then?" I exclaimed. He shook his head.

"I'll get you out." He promised me.

"How stupid are you? You've only just joined, you're not eligible for eviction." Strood said.

"Don't try anything clever or we all get it in the neck." Lynda said.

"Big Brother House- this is Davina Droid." Lynda, Strood and Crosbie all joined hands. Crosbie grabbed the Doctor's and Lynda grabbed mine. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Crosbie, Lynda, and Strood- you have all been nominated for eviction." Big Brother said. You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.

"And the eight person to be evicted from the Big Brother House is..."

There was a long pause. The Doctor kept rolling his eyes. I must admit, it was quite exciting.

"Crosbie!" Crosbie gasped, and Strood and Lynda smothered her in a hug.

"I'm sorry! Oh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Lynda gasped.

"Oh, it should've been me, that's not fair... Oh Crosbie, love..." Strood said. The Doctor and I both relaxed into the backs of the chair.

"Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!" Big Brother called. Crosbie, Strood and Lynda leapt to their feet. They all rushed to the door. I turned around in my seat to watch what happened.

"I won't forget you." Lynda said.

"I'm sorry I stole your soap." Crosbie said.

"Oh, I don't mind, honestly." Lynda replied. Lynda hugged her again.

"Thanks for the food- you're a smashing cook." Crosbie said, and kissed her cheek. "Bless you."

The doors slid open, revealling a white room beyond, ending with a door.

"Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House!" Big Brother called. Crosbie stared into the room nervously.

"Bye then... bye Lynda..." She said.

"Bye..." Lynda said, sadly. Lynda and Strood made an archway with their arms, and Crosbie walked underneath it. They waved to Crosbie, who waved back, and the doors closed.

"I don't believe it. Poor Crosbie..." Lynda said, crying.

"It's only a game show, she'll make a fortune on the outside! Sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that... she'll be laughing!" The Doctor said, and I nodded in agreement.

"What d'you mean, on the outside?" Lynda asked, staring at us.

We watched the TV screen and saw Crosbie, shaking, crossing into the middle of the white room.

"Here we go..." Strood said.

Lynda and Strood dashed back to the couch and perched on the edges nervously. I shrugged at the Doctor, who sighed in return.

"Well, what are they waiting for? Why don't they just let her go?" The Doctor asked, impatiently.

"Stop it, it's not funny!" Lynda said, tearfully.

"Eviction in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...!" Big Brother said.

A golden bolt of light passed down the centre of the white room, disintegrating Crosbie. A squeak erupted from my mouth in shock and I bounded off the couch and rushed to the door to the white room.

"What was that?" The Doctor asked.

"Disintegrator beam." Strood said, seriously.

The Doctor looked at them, and I walked over to him.

"She's been evicted. From life." I said.


	31. Eleanor Turns To Atoms

"No one programmed the transmat, no one selected the new contestants... it is exactly like those stories." A male programmer said.

"Oh, don't start that again. I think you need to take a session off." The female retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I would. If you'd take it with me." He flirted.

"And don't start that again either." The man grinned at her.

"But the rumours go back decades. Saying that something's been hidden up here. Underneath the transmissions." He replied. She looked up at him.

"But the Controller would know. She watches everything."

"Maybe she just can't see it. Gotta allow for human error." He replied.

"Well, that's your problem, then." She said, and leaned in closer closer to him. "I don't think she's been human for years." She whispered.

They smiled and looked across the room. There was a lady, the Controller, wired up to computers. She was deathly pale, and muttered under her breath. She was controlling the transmissions.

"18... 19... 20... 21... 22... 23... transmit." She muttered.

ELEANOR

The Doctor was pacing around the room and I was sat on top of the couch, watching him.

"Are you insane?" He demanded. "You just step right into the disintergrator? Is it that important, getting your face on the telly? Is it worth dying for?"

"You're talking like we've got a choice!" Lynda shouted.

"I thought you had to apply." I said quietly, still shocked at what I'd seen.

"Don't be stupid." Strood said.

"Don't you dare call her stupid." The Doctor spat, pointing at him. I sighed.

"Right, sorry. But that's how they played it centuries back." Strood told me.

"You get chosen whether you like it or not! Everyone on Earth is a potential contestant. The transmat beam picks you out at random. And it's non-stop. There are sixty Big Brother houses running all at once!" Lynda said, frustrated.

"How many. Sixty?" The Doctor demanded.

"They've had to be cut back. It's not what it was." Strood complained.

"It's a charnel house! What about the winners? What do they get?" I asked.

"They get to live." Lynda said.

"Is that it?" The Doctor demanded.

"Well, isn't that enough?" Lynda shot back. I ran my hands through my hair.

The Doctor stared at her, before grabbing my wrist and dragging me across the room.

"Rose is out there. She got caught in the transmat. She's a contestant. Time we got out." He said to me.

"Scarlet." I said, simply. He refused eye contact with me. I sighed in frustration.

"That other contestant- Lynda with an I- she was forcibly evicted for what?" The Doctor asked.

"Damaged property..." Lynda said.

"What, like this?" The Doctor asked, and soniced one of the cameras, completely destroying it.

Jack Harkness was dressed in tennis gear, swinging a tennis racket in front of the mirror.

He stopped. "No. I'm just not getting this. It's just too safe- too decent. And you'd never keep it clean." He complained.

"Stage two ready and waiting!" Zu-zana called cheerfully.

"Bring it on, girls!"

He stood in front of the Defabricator, and it shot at him. He stood naked before them once again.

"And now it's time for the face off!" Trin-e said.

"What does that mean? Do I get to compete with someone else?" Jack asked enthusiastically.

"No, like I said... face off!" Trin-e said.

She held up her arms, one with needles on the end and the other a chain saw. Jack stared, scared but not shocked.

"I think you'd look good with a dogs head." Zu-zana said, snipping together the scissors that had appeared on her arm.

"Or maybe no head at all. That would be so outrageous." Trin-e said.

"And we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest.." Zu-zana replied.

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing is too extreme. It's to die for." Trin-e said.

"Now, hold on, ladies. I don't want to shoot either one of you." Jack warned.

"But you're unarmed!"

"You're naked!"

Jack reached behind him and produced a gun. He pointed it at them.

"But... that's a compact laser deluxe!" Zu-zana said.

"Where were you hiding that?" Trin-e asked.

"You really don't wanna know." Jack smirked.

"Give me that accessory-" Trin-e said, moving towards him. Jack fired and blew her head off and did the same to Zu-zana.

"You are the weakest link! Goodbye!" The Annedroid said.

Rodrick looked down as with a blast of the gun, Colleen disappeared.

"Going to the break! Two minutes on the clock." The floor manager called.

Rose looked exhausted, and her eyes were red from crying. Scarlet was gone, dead.

Rodrick was wiping his board clean, Rose turned to him.

"Colleen was clever. She banked all our money. Why'd you vote for her?" Rose asked.

"Cos I want to keep you in! You're stupid! You don't even know the Princess Vossaheen's surname. When it comes to the final, I want to be up against you. So that you get disintegrated, and I get a stack load of credits. Courtesy of the Bad Wolf Corporation..." He said.

"What d'you mean? Who's Bad Wolf?" Rose asked.

"They're in charge. They run the Game Station." Rodrick said.

"Why are they called Bad Wolf?" Rose asked.

"I dunno, it's just a name. It's like an Old Earth... nursery rhyme sort of thing... what does it matter?" Rodrick asked.

"I keep hearing those words everywhere we go. Bad Wolf." Rose said pensively. "Different times... different places like it's written all over the universe..." Rose said.

"What're you going on about?" Rodrick demanded.

"If the Bad Wolf is in charge of this quiz, then... maybe I'm not here by mistake... Someone's been planning this..." Rose said.

ELEANOR

"The Doctor, Eleanor- you've broken the House Rules." Big Brother said, as we all sat on the couch.

"Big Brother has no choice but to evict you." Big Brother continued. "You have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!"

The Doctor quickly laced his fingers through mine and ran to the door. "That's more like it! Come on then, open up!"

"You're mad! It's like you both want to die!" Lynda exclaimed.

"We're not though, they wouldn't do that." I explained, grinning like a mad woman.

"I reckon they're plants. They were only brought in to stir things up!" Strood said.

The doors slid open, the Doctor and I dashed through into the white room.

"The Doctor- Eleanor Thorn... Please leave the Big Brother house." Strood left, but Lynda stayed at the doors, watching us with a sad look on her face.

I looked up at the Doctor as the doors slid shut, and he grinned at me.

"Come on then, disintegrate us! Come on, what're you waiting for?" He demanded.

"Eviction in 5...4... 3... 2...1..." Big Brother said. I must admit, I did get a bit nervous in case our expectations were wrong.

The power failed, and I laughed along with the Doctor.

"I knew it!" I cried. "You see? Someone brought us into this game. If they'd wanted us dead, they could have trans-matted us into a volcano." I said.

"Maybe the security isn't as tight as this end." The Doctor said, and looked up at the cameras mockingly. "Are you following this? I'm getting out!" He exclaimed. HE soniced the door and it swung open, as did the one leading back to the house. Lynda popped her head through and the Doctor and I looked at her.

"Come with us." I said. Lynda looked back at Strood who was kneeling on the couch.

"We're not allowed!" Strood said.

"Stay in there- you've got a fifty fifty chance of disintegration. Stay with us- I promise we'll get you out alive. Come on!" The Doctor said.

"No- I can't, I can't..." Lynda said, nervously.

"Lynda, you're sweet. From what I've seen of your world, d'you think anyone votes for sweet?" I asked.

Lynda saw what I was saying and she followed us. The Doctor grabbed my hand and hers too, and pulled us through the door and out.

We found ourselves on Floor 56 of Satellite Five.

"Hold on... I've been here before. This is Satellite Five!" The Doctor exclaimed, looking around. He opened the door to the side room with his sonic and we stepped through. He whirred in on a control panel.

"No guards. That makes a change. You'd think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth." He noted. We left the room again, he tested the walls with his sonic.

"No one's called Satellite Five in ages. It's the Game Station now. Hasn't been Satellite Five in about a hundred years." Lynda told us.

The Doctor checked his watch. "A hundred years exactly. It's the year 200100. I was here before. Floor 139. Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then... had a bit of trouble upstairs. Nothing too serious. Easy- gave 'em a hand- home in time for tea." The Doctor said. "El, you weren't there." He told me.

"A hundred years ago?" Lynda asked, smirking. He placed his hand on a touch sensitive pad and tried to open a door, but it wouldn't move.

"What, you were here a hundred years ago?" Lynda asked.

"Yep!" He said, whirring at the edges of the door with his sonic.

"You're looking good on it... Eleanor especially." She said, eyeing me enviously as I glared at her and put a possessive hand on the Doctor's hand, who looked down and smirked at me.

"She moisturises." He said. He looked down at his sonic. "Funny sorts of readings. All kinds of energy... the place is humming. This goes way beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?" The Doctor asked.

He tried another door.

"I dunno. I think we're the first contestants to get outside." Lynda giggled.

"I had three other friends travelling with me. They must've got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?" The Doctor asked.

"I dunno. They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games." Lynda explained.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well, there's ten floors of Big Brother. There's a different house behind each one of those doors. And then beyond that, there's all sorts of shows. It's non-stop. There's um... Call My Bluff... with real guns. Countdown, where you've got thirty seconds to stop the bomb going off... Ground Force... which is a nasty one... you get turned into compost. Erm... Wipeout, speaks for itself... oh! And Stars In Their Eyes. Literally, stars in their eyes. If you don't sing, you get blinded." She said.

"And you watch this stuff?" I asked.

"Everyone does. How come you don't?" Lynda shrugged.

"Never paid for our license." The Doctor said.

"Oh, my God! You get executed for that!" She said, shocked.

"Let them try." The Doctor said.

"You keep saying things that don't make sense. But who are you though, Doctor? Really?" Lynda asked.

"Doesn't matter." He replied. He walked off to try the next door.

"Well, it does to me. I've just put my life in your hands."

"I'm just a traveller, wandering past. Believe it or not, all I'm after is a quiet life." The Doctor said.

"Bull shit!" I laughed, he smirked at me.

"So... if we get out of here... what're you two gonna do? Just... wander off again?" She asked.

"Fast as we can." The Doctor replied.

"So... I could come with you." Lynda said. I made a quiet vomiting sound at the back of my throat, which she didn't hear. The Doctor did, and frowned at me.

"Maybe you could." He replied, staring straight at me, daring me to say something.

"I wouldn't get in the way." She added, brightly.

"I wouldn't mind if you did. Not a bad idea, Lynda with a Y." He replied, staring straight into my eyes, cockily. I walked away from them, my arms crossed and lent on a door all the way across the room.

I couldn't hear anything they said after that, but I did see Lynda rush off to the end of the room near me, and she pulled a lever down. The words 'Bad Wolf Corporation' illuminated on the wall. I gasped and stood up straight.

"Your Lord and Masters." Lynda said.

The Doctor was staring up at the words.

"Compatible systems... align the wave signature..." Jack laughed to himself. "Thattaboy! Got myself a gun." He said, and picked up the defabricator and glanced at the dead Droids. "Well, ladies. The pleasure was all mine. Which is the only thing that matters in the end."

He walked off, leaving behind the smoking bodies of the two lady Droids.

He ran out onto Floor 229, and placed a hand on a pad to open the door to the lift. He consulted his wrist device.

"Two hearts, that's him. Which floor?" Jack asked.

He impatiently pressed a few numbers on the lift control panel and the doors closed.

ELEANOR

We looked out on the observation desk.

"Blimey! I've never seen it for real before! Not... not from orbit. Planet Earth..." Lynda said, as we stood before a window observing the Earth. The planet was grey and ugly.

"What's happened to it?" I asked.

"Well, it's always been like that. Ever since I was born. See that there?" She asked, pointing. "That's the Great Atlantic Smog Storm. It's been going twenty years. We get newsflashes telling us when it's safe to breathe outside." She said.

"So, the population just sits there? Half the world's too fat, half the world's too thin. And you lot just watch telly?" The Doctor asked.

"Ten thousand channels, all beaming down from here." She said, in awe.

"The Human Race. Brainless sheep. Being fed on a diet of... mind you, have you still got that programme where three people have to live with a bear?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh, Bear With me! I love that one!" She said, delighted.

"And me. The celebrity edition, where the bear got in the-" The Doctor said.

"Got in the bath!" Lynda exclaimed, and they both giggled. I rolled my eyes.

"But it's all gone wrong. I mean, history's gone wrong. Again. This should be the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire- I don't understand." I said.

"Last time I was here, I put it right." The Doctor added.

"No, but that's when it first went wrong. A hundred years ago, like you said. All the news channels- they just shut down overnight."

"But that was me. I did that." He replied.

"There was nothing left in their place. No information. The whole planet just froze. The government... the economy... they collapsed... that was the start of it. One hundred years of hell." Lynda explained.

"Oh, my..." The Doctor said, staring at the ruined planet. "I made this world."

Agorax screamed as the beam hit him until he was dust. The gun went back into the AnneDroid's mouth.

"That leaves Rose and Rodrick. You're going to play head to head, let's play, The Weakest Link."

"Right, that's the end of the tactical voting... you're on your own now." Rodrick said.

ELEANOR

"Hey beautiful! Good to see ya! You too Doctor. Any sign of Rose?" Jack called to me. Jack had found us, and stood next to me on the deck.

"Can't you track her down?" I asked.

"She must be still inside the games. All the rooms are shielded." Jack said.

"If we can just get inside this computer... she's got to be here somewhere. Scarlet was holding her hand, she must be with her." The Doctor said, fiddling with a computer.

"Well, you'd better hurry up. These games don't have a happy ending." Jack said.

"You think I don't know that?" The Doctor snapped. Jack backed down and passed his wrist thing to the Doctor.

"There you go." He said. "Patch that in. It's programmed to find her."

"Thanks." The Doctor said.

"Hey there!" Jack said to Lynda, shaking her hand. I rolled my eyes.

"Hello!"

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Lynda Moss." Lynda said.

"Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss."

"D'you mind flirting outside!" The Doctor said.

"I was just saying hello!" Jack insisted.

"For you, that's flirting." I said.

"Alright!" He huffed, and digged me in my ribs, causing him to smirk and me to giggle.

"I'm not complaining." Lynda piped up, staring at me.

"Which is a good idea." Jack said, and kissed her hand.

"Oh!" She said, laughing and I smirked.

"It's not compatible. The stupid system doesn't make sense." The Doctor shouted. Instead of comforting him like I usually would, I left him to it.

He chucked the wrist device at me. We wrenched the front of the computer away with Jack and then snatched the wrist device back off me.

"This place should be a basic broadcaster. The systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television, this stations' transmitting something else." The Doctor said.

"Like what?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with me. Someone's manipulating my entire life. It's some sort of trap and Rose and Scarlet are stuck inside it." He said, working frantically.

"Rose, in geography, the Grand Central Ravine is named after which Ancient Britain City?" The Annedroid asked.

"Is it York?" Rose asked.

"No, the correct answer is Sheffield." The robot replied. Rose sighed.

ELEANOR

The wrist-device beeped.

"Found her! Floor 407!" The Doctor cried.

Lynda gasped. "Oh, my God! She's with the Annedroid! You've gotta get her out of there!" Lynda cried.

"Doctor, Scarlet is with her!" I shouted.

"Rodrick, in literature, the author of 'Lucky' was Jackie who?"

"Stewart." Rodrick replied.

"No, the correct answer is Collins." The Annedroid said. "Rose, the oldest inhabitant of the Isop Galaxy is the Face of what?"

"Boe! The Face of Boe!" Rose cried.

"That is the correct answer."

The Doctor, Jack, Lynda and I were in the lift, waiting impatiently for the numbers to go up.

"Come on... come on!" He stressed.

"Rodrick, in history, who was the president of the Red Velvets?"

"Hoshbin Frane." Rodrick said.

"That is the correct answer." Rodrick was one point up than Rose. "Rose, in food, the dish Gaffabeque originated on which planet?"

"Um... is it..." Rose mumbled. "Mars?"

"Nope, the correct answer is Lucifer." Rose sighed, and Rodrick looked pleased at Rose's failure.

"Rodrick, which measurement of length is said to have been defined by the Emperor Jate as the distance from his nose to his fingertip?"

"Would that be a... goffle?" He asked.

"No. The correct answer is a paab. Rose, in fashion, Stella Pok Baint is famous for what?"

"Shoes." Rose said, firmly, but taking a guess.

"No. The correct answer is hats."

Rodrick was one up from Rose, and there was only one question left.

We ran out of the lift on the right floor. We could hear the Annedroid's voice, whatever it was.

"Rodrick, in physics, who discovered the Fifteen-Dash-Ten Barric Fields?"

"Game room six! Which one is it?" The Doctor asked frantically.

"Over here!" Lynda called.

"San... Hazeldine." Rodrick said.

"No..." The droid replied.

We reached the door and the Doctor pulled out his sonic.

"And the correct answer is San Chen."

"Stand back, let me blast it open." Jack said.

"Can't it's made of Hybra Combination." I said, just as desperate.

"Rose, in history, which Icelandic city hosted Murder Spree Twenty?"

After a pause I heard Rose say, "Reykjavik?" There was a pause.

"No, the correct answer is Pola Ventura." The music sounded.

"Doctor, she's lost." I said quietly, but my eyes watered a little.

His sonic was whirring against the door, but it wouldn't open.

"But I'm not supposed to be here! I need to find the Doctor and Eleanor, they've got to be somewhere! They wouldn't just leave me!" She called, and I closed my eyes.

"Rodrick, you are the strongest link, you will be transported home with one thousand six hundred credits."

"Oh, thank you, thank you so much." A man said, and a sob squeaked out of me.

"This game is illegal! I'm telling you to stop!" She cried, obviously upset.

The door finally opened and we sprinted through, but we were too far away.

"Rose!" The Doctor shouted.

"Rose, you leave this life with nothing-" The Annedroid said.

"Stop this game!" I screamed.

"I order you to stop this game!" The Doctor said.

"We're live on air!" The floor manager said. The Doctor and I ran separately over the floor to Rose, Rose began to run towards us.

"You are the weakest link." The droid said.

"Look out for the Annedroid, it's armed!" Rose cried.

She ran, and the Anne-droid dropped her jaw down and a gun came out of her mouth. I squeaked again, and sprinted faster. A beam shot out of the droid's mouth and shot Rose in the back, she disappeared.

"NO!" I screamed. I heard footsteps behind me as Jack paced over.

"What the hell did you do to her?" He demanded.

The Doctor and I crouched down next to the ashes, I was sobbing but he was silent. We were both absolutely in shock. I was devastated, words couldn't even form in my mouth. Rose was gone.

"Scarlet." I choked.

"The little girl?" The floor manager asked, and I nodded. "Shot." She said coldly, I nodded and scrunched my eyes shut. I felt broken and hollow.

I stood up, determined.

"Don't!" Jack cried, but he couldn't stop me as I ran up to the droid, and tried to dismantle it.

"You are the weakest link. Goodbye." Was the last thing I heard before I was shot.

The Doctor roared, and stood up, looking heart broken. The bond between he and his soul mate had been stretched; but luckily not broken. He could still have hope.

But he couldn't be sure that his love and friend weren't dead.

I actually cried when writing this! gkghlijlgm It's so sad!

Please review/comment.

-Fay x 


	32. Eleanor Meets the Daleks

grapejuice101 Yes, I do plan on doing the Christmas Invasion straight after this. :)  
>Thank you for all the positive comments, you make me motivated and excited to write more, especially when a tutor today called my writing 'delectable' Thank you! -Fay x<p>The Doctor crouched down, mourning the loss of Eleanor, Rose and even Scarlet; all dead because of the Annedroid and Bad Wolf. And even himself, he thought sadly.<p>

He couldn't hear properly, he was unfocused from everything around him, he didn't even try and resist when a security guard pulled him to his feet and placed a gun to the side of his head. He came into tune when he saw Jack ranting and raving; clearly upset by the loss. Whether it was Eleanor or Rose, he didn't know. He seemed to take a liking to both, much to the Doctor's hatred.

"You killed her! Your stupid freaking game show killed her!" He shouted, while his hands were getting tied. He unfocused from the voice again, he was staring at the ashes of his love and his friend. A tear snaked miserably down his face. His one love, the one person that had made him feel ectatically happy; and he hadn't told her. He hadn't once told her that he loved her, but of course he did.

He was lost inside his head, completely unaware of what was happening around him. His heart had torn in two, and his other was completely flat.

"Sir, I'm arresting you under Private Legislation Sixteen of the Game Station Syndicate." A security guard barked, but he could barely hear him.

The Doctor was roughly slammed against a gate as he was searched. He was completely unresisting still, he was past caring. The sonic was taken away from his pocket. He didn't have anything else to lose. He was turned roughly back to face the guard, who brandished the sonic in his face.

"Can you tell us the purpose of this device, sir?" A guard said.

He didn't respond, the Doctor wasn't even looking at it.

Lynda, Jack and the Doctor were sat on a bench in a prison cell as they were questioned.

"Can you tell us how you got on board?" The guard asked.

"Just leave him alone-" Lynda protested. The guard grabbed her chin, silencing her.

"I'm asking him." He barked, and dropped her. He turned back to the Doctor.

"Sir? Can you tell us who you are?"

The Doctor was against a wall having his convict photo's taken. Primarily from the front, then he turned to each side, a miserable and disassociated look on his face. He was numb. Dead. A shell.

They were back in the cell.

"You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal Colony, there to be held without trial, you may not appeal against this sentence." The guard said.

The Doctor and Jack were unresponsive to the statement, but Lynda looked uncomfortable.

"Is that understood?" The guard asked, coldly.

Still no response. The Doctor hadn't uttered one word since his soul mate was taken from him. The guard walked to the door and opened it.

"Let's do it." The Doctor said to Jack. The trio leaped to their feet. Jack punched the guard and kicked his way through the gate. He tossed one guard aside, and the Doctor threw another against the wall, knocking him out. They all grabbed weapons and left, while an alarm went off in the background.

Meanwhile, on floor 500, the male programmer was watching the trio. "Oh, my God. Now we're in trouble." He muttered.

Jack, Lynda and the Doctor rushed into a lift.

"Floor 500." The Doctor said, still no emotion showing behind his eyes.

The male programmer pressed a button on Floor 500 and an alarm went off.

"Clear the floor! He's on his way up here, with a gun!" He shouted.

The staff milling around the programmer stood and rushed away.

The Doctor released the safety on his huge defabricatior gun he was carrying. His face was dark, the oncoming storm. He meant business. The lift continued to rise upwards.

The female programmer was exasperated, trying to get to the wired up Controller.

"This is an emergency! You've got to close the lift!" She cried. The Controller ignored her.

"All staff are reminded that solar flares commence in delta point two-"

"Never mind solar flares! He's gonna KILL you!" The male shouted. The lift doors opened, and all the staff turned around. They were face to face with the Doctor, Jack and Lynda, all armed and ready to shoot.

"Okay! Move away from the desk! Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clears!" Jack shouted. The staff scattered as the Doctor strode to the Controller, as though he had tunnel vision.

"Stand to the sides. And stay there." Jack warned. The Doctor brandished his gun at the Controller.

"...18... 19... 20..." She muttered, sounding as if she was in pain.

"This Satellite's more than a Game Station." the Doctor said.

"79..."

"Who killed Eleanor Thorn and Rose Tyler?" The Doctor demanded.

"All staff are reminded that solar flares-" The Controller said, ignoring him.

"I want an answer!" He roared.

"... in delta point one." She finished.

"She can't reply." The male programmer called over. The Doctor abruptly turned around and swung the gun around to the staff, who flinched.

"Don't shoot!" The male programmer begged.

"Oh, don't be so thick. Like I was ever gonna shoot." The Doctor scoffed, wishing he had Eleanor there to laugh with him. He tossed the defabricator to the Male Programmer.

"Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits!" The Doctor called.

"Yes, sir!" Jack replied.

"You- what were you saying?" The Doctor asked the man.

"But... I've got your gun." He replied.

"Okay, so shoot me. Why can't she answer?" He demanded.

"She's um..." He said, distracted by the huge gun he was holding. "Can I put this down?" He asked.

"If you want, just hurry up." The Doctor said, impatiently.

"Thanks." He said, and put it down on the floor. "Sorry. Um... the Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain- you're not a member of staff so she doesn't recognise your existence." He explained.

"What's her name?" The Doctor asked, looking at the Controller.

"I don't know. She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known."

"Door's sealed. We should be safe for about ten minutes." Jack shouted.

"Keep an eye on them." The Doctor asked.

"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station- I think you're right." The man said.

Jack's device beeped, he read it and looked around.

"Unauthorised transmats... it's been going on for years." The man continued.

"Show me." The Doctor said. Captain Jack placed his hand on the door to Archive Six.

"You're not allowed in there! Archive Six is out of bounds!" the female programmer said, making Jack jump.

Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?" Jack asked, holding up his two massive guns. He placed his hands on the pad and the door opened.

Jack smiled, in the middle of the room stood the TARDIS. He unlocked the door and entered. The TARDIS was humming away. Slung over one of the handrails was one of Rose's jackets. On the controls, Eleanor's mobile was there. He paused, placing his hand on Rose's jacket before moving to the console, and he pocketed Eleanor's phone. He didn't want the Doctor to have to see it when he came in. He checked the screen on the console before leaning in to looking closer, he was confused.

"What the hell...?"

Back on Floor 500, the Controller was muttering to herself.

"Solar flare activity at delta point zero..."

"If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out. The staff are terrified." The female programmer said to the Doctor.

"That's the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day-" The Doctor said.

"That's not our fault- we're just doing our job." She replied.

"And with that sentence, you just lost the right to talk to me. Now back off." He warned, disgusted. Lynda flinched and the woman stared at him. One of the screens turned static and the lights flickered off. There was the sound of power winding down.

"That's just the solar flares. They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal." The male assured.

"Doctor..." The Controller said quietly.

"Doctor?" The female programmer said.

He hadn't heard the Controller, and was still pissed off with the programmer. He'd lost too much to be patient.

"Whatever it is, you can wait." He told her.

"I think she wants you." The woman said, ignoring his demand. The Doctor span around and looked at the Controller.

"Doctor..."

He rushed over to stand with her. She was staring ahead still.

"Doctor...? Where' s the Doctor?" She asked.

"I'm here." He said.

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you." She said.

"What do you want?" The Doctor asked.

"Solar-flares hiding me. They can't hear me, my... my masters, they always listen but they can't hear me now. The sun... the sun is so bright..." She said.

"Who are your masters?" The Doctor asked.

"They wired my head, their name is forbidden. They control my thoughts, my masters... my masters, I had to be careful. They monitor the transmissions but they don't watch the programmes. I could hide you inside the games." She said.

"My friends died inside your games." The Doctor replied, coldly.

"Doesn't matter." The Controller replied.

"Don't you DARE tell me that." He roared.

"They've been hiding. My masters, hiding in the dark space, watching and shaping the Earth... so, so, so many years... they've always been here. Guiding humanity, hundreds and hundreds of years-" She said.

"Who are they?" He asked,

"They wait. They plan and grow in numbers, they're strong now. So strong, my masters-"

"Who are they?" He asked, impatiently. She suddenly looked at him.

"But they speak of you. My masters, they fear the Doctor and Eleanor." She spoke.

"Tell me! Who are they?" He asked, stepping forward.

The Controller gasped and the power switched back on. She went back to counting.

"When's the next solar-flare?" The Doctor asked.

"Two years time." The male programmer replied.

"Fat lot of good that is." The Doctor spat.

"Found the TARDIS!" Jack called, emerging from Archive Six.

"We're not leaving now." The Doctor said.

"No. But the TARDIS worked it out." Jack said. He shoved the male programmer out of his chair and sat down.

"You'll wanna watch this." He said, smug. The Doctor turned to watch.

"Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?" Jack asked, indicating for her to step away from everyone else.

"I... I just wanna go home." She said.

"It'll only take a second." Jack replied, smiling at her. "Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can?" Lynda did as she was told and stood in the empty area of the floor.

"Everybody watching? Okay... three, two, one..." And he pressed a button and a disintegrator beam shot her. There was nothing left but smoke.

"But you killed her!" The Doctor shouted.

"Oh, d'you think?" Jack asked, and pressed the button again. Lynda reappeared next to the Doctor, slightly dazed but unharmed.

"...What the hell was that?" She asked. The Doctor turned to Jack to explain.

"It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator- a secondary transmat system." He said.

The Doctor understood, and his eyes lit up. Eleanor...

"People don't get killed in the games! They get transported across space! Doctor, Eleanor, Rose and Scarlet are still alive!" He cried. The Doctor laughed ecstatically, and his heart seemed to beat again. He was grinning madly, thinking entirely of his love and his best friend, El and Rose. And of course Scarlet.

Rose and Eleanor were led on the floor unconscious. Scarlet was with them, all three companions had been placed together. Someone knew they were friends.

"It can't be..." Rose said, as she became conscious. She nudged El awake, and she sat bolt upright, looking up. A horribly familiar alien glided towards them. El whimpered.

"What is that?" She asked Rose.

"But you're dead... I saw you die!" Rose said, terrified. The alien backed the two women against a wall, they tried to get out edge ways but were stopped by a plunger.

"What is it?" El whispered.

"Dalek." Rose replied. Eleanor's eyes bulged and tears formed in her eyes. She'd heard of them, of course she had. Her time lord memories flooded back to her. The Daleks. Things to be terrified of.

"They're out there somewhere!" The Doctor cried, flitting from console to console.

"Doctor!" The Controller shouted. It caused her pain, betraying her masters, but she was determined.

"Co-ordinates five point six point one-" She cried. The Doctor typed them in frantically.

"Don't! The solar flare's gone, they'll hear you!" He shouted.

"Point four three four- no my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma seven seven-" She screamed in agony, the Doctor looked up and the wires she was attached to fell away, empty. Only dust remained.

"They took her." He said.

The Controller appeared on the floor of the spaceship Rose, Eleanor and Scarlet were on. The two women still hadn't seen the little girl. The Controller had holes all over her body, she stood, blind, but proud.

"Oh, my masters." She spoke, as a Dalek glided towards her. "You can kill me. For I have brought your destruction." She said, gleefully. The Dalek shot her with a ray gun, and she fell to the floor, dead.


	33. The Extermination of the Dalek's Hope

I want to let you know that the ending of this episode is going to be drastically different from the original. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Jack was sat at a computer terminal, the others gathered around him.

"Look, use that." The male programmer said, giving Jack a disk. "It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions." Jack peered up at him.

"Nice...Thanks." He held out his hand, looking at him in a flirty way. "Captain Jack Harkness, by the way."

"I'm Davitch Pavale." He replied, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale..." Jack said, smirking.

"There's a time and a place." the Doctor interrupted.

"Are you saying this entire set up's been a disguise all along?" The woman asked.

"Going way back. Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game. Controlling the Human Race from behind the scenes for generations." The Doctor said.

Jack handed a small device to the Time Lord. "Click on this." He said. The Doctor took it and pointed it upwards, and clicked. An image of an empty expanse of space appeared over their heads.

"The transmat delivers to that point. Right on the edge of the solar system." Jack said.

"There's nothing there." The woman said.

"It looks like nothing. 'Cause that's what this satellite does. Underneath the transmission, there's another signal." He said.

"Doing what?" Davitch asked.

"Hiding whatever's out there. Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanner..." The Doctor said.

They all stared up at the expanse of space.

"There's something sitting right on top of Planet Earth... but it's completely invisible." He continued. Lynda chewed her lip.

"If I can cancel the signal..." He said.

He pressed a few buttons, and when he looked up at the screen, the expanse of space was no longer empty. There were hundreds of identical spaceships, Dalek spaceships, revolving around and around.

The Doctor stared, eyes wide, unbelieving.

"That's impossible. I know those ships... they were destroyed..." Jack said.

"Obviously, they survived." The Doctor said.

"Who did? What are they?" Lynda asked.

"Two hundred ships. More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about half a million of them." The Doctor said, terrified, his voice shaking.

"Half a million what?" Davitch asked.

"Daleks." The Doctor stated.

A Dalek entered an area of the spaceship, where there was a huddle of others.

"ALERT! ALERT! WE ARE DETECTED!"

"IT IS THE DOCTOR! HE HAS LOCATED US!"

Rose and Eleanor, huddled together, stared around at them all. Eleanor then spotted Scarlet, very close by. She squeaked, and crawled slowly and grabbed a hold of the small child. She woke up, her eyes opening and then she clung onto El, who herself was terrified.

"OPEN COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL!"

A Dalek swivelled round to face the trio. "BOTH FEMALES WILL STAND. STAND!" It demanded. El put Scarlet down and Rose and Eleanor stood up. An image appeared in mid air, of the Doctor, Jack, Lynda and two others who El didn't recognise. She gasped when she saw the Doctor, and sobbed, overcome with emotion.

"I WILL TALK TO THE DOCTOR." A Dalek said, and El simply stared at her soul mates face, as he looked grimly at her.

"Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!" The Doctor said. Eleanor smirked, as he waved at them mockingly, his grin fading.

"THE DALEK STRATAGEM NEARS COMPLETION. THE FLEET IS ALMOST READY. YOU WILL NOT INTERVENE."

"Oh really? Why's that then?" The Doctor asked.

"WE HAVE YOUR ASSOCIATE, YOUR SOUL MATE AND A CHILD. YOU WILL OBEY OR THEY WILL BE EXTERMINATED."

Rose was shaking, Scarlet was sobbing and Eleanor looked defiantly at the Doctor. She was strong, and proud, and scared. Her bottom lip betrayed her by wobbling.

"No." The Doctor said, his voice also overcome with emotion at the mention of his soul mate being killed, but he said it strongly without his voice wavering.

Jack, Lynda and the man and woman both looked at the Doctor, shocked. Rose stared, her mouth open at him. What was he doing? Eleanor simply stood, staring into her loves eyes.

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF."

"I said, no." The Doctor said.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS NEGATIVE?"

"It means, no." He replied.

"BUT YOUR SOUL MATE WILL BE DESTROYED. THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE."

"No. 'Cos this is what I'm gonna do- I'm gonna rescue her." He said, and Eleanor had pride in her eyes. "And Rose and Scarlet, because that's what will always happen." The rest glanced at him in awe. "I'm gonna save Eleanor Thorn, Rose Tyler, and Eleanor Nancy Thorn from the middle of the Dalek Fleet and then I'm gonna save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every last STINKING Dalek outta the sky!" He roared.

"BUT YOU HAVE NO WEAPONS! NO DEFENCES! NO PLAN!" The Doctor grinned at the Dalek.

"Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death? Eleanor?" The Doctor said.

"Yes?" El replied, smiling.

"I'm coming to get you." He said, looking right into her eyes. He clicked something and the screen went blank. The connection line was closed.

"THE DOCTOR IS INITIATING HOSTILE ACTION!"

"THE STRATAGEM MUST ADVANCE. BEGIN THE INVASION OF EARTH!"

The Daleks span around wildly, and Rose gasped but they took no notice of her, as the trio stepped out of their way.

"THE DOCTOR WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"

"EXTERMINATE!"

The Daleks were in a state of panic, and one of them turned to Rose and El, who had picked Scarlet up.

"YOU KNOW THE DOCTOR! YOU UNDERSTAND HIM! YOU ARE HIS SOUL MATE. YOU WILL PREDICT HIS ACTIONS!"

"I don't know!" Eleanor cried. The Dalek glided towards her, and Rose grabbed her hand and the two girls stood, giving each other strength.

"And even if she did, she wouldn't tell ya!" Rose said bravely.

"PREDICT! PREDICT! PREDICT!"

"TARDIS DETECTED! IN FLIGHT."

"LAUNCH MISSILES! EXTERMINATE!"

"You can't! The TARDIS hasn't got any defences- you're gonna kill him!" Rose cried, and El squeezed her eyes together.

"YOU HAVE PREDICTED CORRECTLY."

Rose and El turned to each other, and muttered words of encouragement, trying to cheer the other up.

Two missiles were fired from the Dalek's ship towards the TARDIS.

Jack and the Doctor were manning the controls frantically. The whole ship was shaking.

"We've got incoming!" Jack cried.

The missiles and the TARDIS collided, exploding with a huge flame.

"The extrapolator's working. We've got a fully functional forcefield. Try saying that when you're drunk..." Jack continued.

"And for my next trick." The Doctor said, operating the controls. The TARDIS materialised into the Dalek ship. Rose and Eleanor turned to look, Eleanor smiling to herself slightly.

When the engines stopped, the Doctor warned the ladies.

"El, Rose, get down!" He called. "Get down, El!" He cried. The trio threw themselves to the floor as the Dalek fired at Jack. "EXTERMINATE."

Jack was holding the defabricator gun, and he deflected the shot back to the Dalek who exploded with a scream. Eleanor and Rose flinched. They struggled back to their feet, Scarlet still in Eleanor's arms, crying.

"You did it!" Rose shouted, grinning. The Doctor turned to look at them, and Eleanor did the same thing. Their eyes met, and Eleanor put Scarlet down. They took off running towards each other and enveloped each other in an embrace, with the Doctor showering kisses in her hair.

"I thought you were dead." He said weakly, his voice breaking. Eleanor had tears running down her face, and she looked up and wiped his away. She gently kissed him, but reminded herself where she was and pulled away, and turned instead to hug Jack. Rose and Scarlet ran up to the Doctor next, and they hugged too.

"Feels like I haven't seen you in years." She laughed, relieved.

"Told you I'd come and get you away." He replied.

"Never doubted it." Rose said, pulling back.

"I did! Are you three all right?" He asked, distractedly looking back at Eleanor, who was being cheered up by Jack.

"Yeah. You?" Rose asked.

"Not bad. Been better!" He said, and walked over to the smoking remains of the Dalek and peered at it while Jack moved over to Rose, who was holding Scarlet's hand. Eleanor walked over to the Doctor and nudged him gently so he knew she was there. She would always be there.

"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Jack asked Rose.

"Ahh, come here!" She replied.

"I was talking to him." He replied, gesturing to the Doctor and smirking. They both laughed and threw their arms around each other.

"Welcome home, Eleanor Thorn, Rose Tyler and Scarlet Nancy Thorn!" Jack cried, grinning as he picked up the little girl and span her round.

"Ohh, I thought I'd never see you again." Rose replied.

"Oh, you were lucky- I was just a one shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk." He replied.

The Doctor and Eleanor examined the Dalek with the sonic.

"You said they were extinct when you told me about them. How come they're still alive?" Eleanor asked. Rose looked around too, also wanting to hear the answer.

"One minute they're the greatest threat in the universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space." Jack added.

"They went off to fight a bigger war... The Time War." The Doctor said.

"I thought that was just a legend." Jack said, surprised.

"I was sent to Earth as a human by my parents, to keep me safe from it." Eleanor told him.

"And I was there. The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords. With the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, except for El and me, but they took the Daleks with them." The Doctor said. "I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turns out they died for nothing." He said quietly, and Eleanor laced her fingers through his without even looking up at him.

"There's thousands of them now. We could hardly stop one. What're we gonna do?" Rose asked.

"No good stood round here chin-wagging! Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers- let's go and meet the neighbours." The Doctor said, cheerfully, and he swung his and El's hands. The two headed off down the ramp.

"You can't go out there!" Rose cried urgently.

Sorry it's so short, but my eyes are burning out here so I'll update a long one tomorrow for you. Please review/comment

x 


	34. The Parting of the Ways

The Doctor opened the door and stepped out, with Eleanor's hand in his.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

The Dalek's fired bolts at the duo, but to no avail as they reflected off the forcefield of the TARDIS, keeping the two safe as well as Rose, Jack and Scarlet who had followed them. The Doctor raised his hands, mocking them.

"Is that it? Useless! Nul points." He said. He leaned against the TARDIS, with a smug and smirking Eleanor by his side. "It's all right, come on out. That forcefield can hold back anything." He said to Jack and Rose.

"Almost anything." El said.

"...Yes but I wasn't going to tell them that. Thanks El." The Doctor complained.

"Sorry." Eleanor muttered.

The Daleks simply watched them. The Doctor stepped forward.

"D'you know what they call me in the ancient legends of Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions... but I reckon that right deep down in your DNA, there's one little spark left. And that's fear."

The eyepieces of the Dalek twitched nervously.

"Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So, tell me- how did you survive the Time War?"

"THEY SURVIVED THROUGH ME." The Dalek Emperor said, and the five had not yet noticed the Emperor Dalek. It was massive, incredibly huge, and towered over everything. The Doctor stared up at him, his mouth open in awe.

"Eleanor... Rose... Captain... this is the Emperor of the Daleks." The Doctor muttered.

"YOU DESTROYED US, DOCTOR. THE DALEK RACE DIED IN YOUR INFERNO, BUT MY SHIP SURVIVED, FALLING THROUGH TIME, CRIPPLED BUT ALIVE." The emperor said.

"I get it." Eleanor said.

"DO NOT INTERUPT!"

"DO NOT INTERUPT!"

"DO NOT INTERUPT!"

Rose and Jack flinched, and Jack covered Scarlet's face a little. The Doctor and Eleanor looked amused and mildly annoyed, but also strong.

"I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor, and that's my soul mate you just barked at. And if there's one thing we can do- it's talk. We've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping us. So if anybody's gonna shut up, it's you!" The Doctor screamed, annoyed enough that the Dalek's shuffled back a little. The Doctor nudged El to continue.

"Where were we?" Eleanor asked sweetly.

"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding. Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth. Harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed, they all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted." The Emperor said. Rose gulped, and looked disgusted. El looked away, repulsed.

"The seed of the Human Race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured." The Emperor continued.

"So, you created an army of Daleks out of the dead." The Doctor said.

"That makes you half human!" Eleanor shouted, smirking and mocking them.

"Those words are blasphemy!" The Emperor yelled.

"DO NOT BLASPHEME!"

"DO NOT BLASPHEME!"

"DO NOT BLASPHEME!"

"Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek." The Emperor said.

"Out of humans." Eleanor finished, nodding at them.

The Doctor looked around at the rest of the crew, who all looked disturbed.

"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" The Doctor asked.

"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!" The Emperor said.

"WORSHIP HIM! WORSHIP HIM! WORSHIP HIM!" The Daleks chanted.

"They're insane!" Eleanor said to the Doctor.

"A hundred years hiding in silence- that's enough to drive anyone mad." The Doctor said. He stared intently at the Daleks and walked towards them. "But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity." He shook his head, sad for them. "You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever. We're going." He said.

"YOU MAY NOT LEAVE MY PRESENCE!" The Emperor yelled.

They were already halfway to the TARDIS, and the Daleks didn't have the power to stop them.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"

The Doctor grinned mockingly before Eleanor pulled him inside the ship and shut the door.

"EXTERMINATE!"

They fired at the TARDIS, but nothing happened, the forcefield was still up.

When inside, the Doctor leaned his head against the TARDIS door. He seemed confident in the face of anger, but deep down, he didn't know what to do. He had to save Eleanor, and Rose and Scarlet. But he didn't know how.

Eleanor saw how distraught he was. She slowly walked over to him, grabbed his face and kissed him swiftly but passionately.

"We'll think of something." She whispered, and walked back to the console. Eleanor perked him up, and gave him strength.

Lynda was still on Floor 500, deep in thought, waiting for the crew to come back. She perked up when she head the TARDIS engines. A second later, Doctor and Eleanor marched out, followed by Jack and Rose. Scarlet had complained of being tired, and so Rose had put her to bed.

"Turn everything up. All transmissions, wide open, full power. Now! Do it!" the Doctor demanded, striding to the consoles.

"What does that do?" Davitch asked.

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board. How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?" The Doctor asked.

"Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programmes." Davitch complained.

"And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless." The Doctor said, and then noticed Lynda. Eleanor did too and rolled her eyes. "Lynda, what are you still doing on board?" The Doctor asked.

"I told you to evacuate everyone." The Doctor said, rounding on Davitch.

"She wouldn't go." Davitch replied.

"Didn't wanna leave ya." Lynda said.

She smiled at him, both Eleanor and Rose looked her up and down, not liking her.

(A/N - Can I just say, I love Lynda? I think she's so brave!)

"There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here... we've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero." The female programmer said.

"Oh, my God. The Fleet is moving. They're on their way." Davitch said, terrified.

The Emperor Dalek was ordering his minions around.

"PURIFY THE EARTH WITH FIRE. THE PLANET WILL BECOME MY TEMPLE AND WE SHALL WE RISE. THIS WILL BE OUR PARADISE!"

The Doctor was frantically ripping armfuls of wires out of desks, and the rest watched him, unknowing of what to do.

"Dalek plan- big mistake. Because what have they left me with? Anyone? Anyone? Oh, come on- it's obvious. A great big transmitter- this station." He spoke quickly, not once looking up. Jack was staring, brow furrowed in concentration, trying to work out what he was doing. Eleanor was biting her thumb nail, doing the same.

"If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it-anyone?" The Doctor asked.

"You've gotta be kidding." Jack and Eleanor said, finally understanding.

"Give them a medal!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"A Delta Wave?" Eleanor asked, unbelieving.

"A Delta Wave!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"What's a Delta Wave?" Rose asked.

"A wave of Van Cassadyne energy. Fries your brain- stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbequed!" Jack exclaimed.

Rose opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Lynda.

"Well, get started and do it then!" Lynda cried, smiling.

"Trouble is, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about- ooh- three days? How long till the Fleet arrive?" The Doctor asked.

"Twenty two minutes." Davitch said, checking the computer.

The Doctor frantically pulled more wires out of the desks, and Eleanor rushed and helped.

"We've now got a forcefield so they can't blast us out of the sky." Jack said.

Rose, Lynda, Davitch and the woman all gathered around the computer as Jack explained.

"But that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading." Jack said.

"Do they know about the Delta Wave?" Davitch asked.

"They'll have worked it out at the same time. So, if they want to stop the Doctor and Eleanor, that means they've got to get to this level-500." Jack said. "Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, 500 to 495. So, they'll penetrate the station below that at level 494 and fight their way up." Jack explained.

"Who're they fighting?" Davitch asked.

"Us." Jack said.

"And... what're we fighting with?" Eleanor asked. Jack looked concernedly at her for a moment, but nodded and continued.

"The guards have guns with bastic bullets- that's enough to blow a Dalek wide open." Jack said.

"What, you're going to fight?" The Doctor asked.

"After a while, I can't help you. But I have to help somehow. I'll go with Jack." Eleanor confirmed.

"No." The Doctor told her firmly.

"Wait a minute. There's six of us then." The woman said.

"Five." The Doctor said. "Eleanor is not fighting. And Rose, you can help us. I need all these wires stripped bare."

Rose joined the two and helped.

"Right! Now there's four of us!" The woman exclaimed.

"Then let's move it! Into the lift! Isolate the lift controls!" Jack said.

Davitch and friend ran off, and Lynda walked up to the Doctor. Much to Eleanor's hatred, he stood up and joined her.

"I... I just wanna say, um... thanks, I suppose. And... I'll do my best!" She said.

"Me too." The Doctor smiled.

They awkwardly shook hands, with Eleanor and Rose both shooting daggers in the background. The two laughed, and Lynda walked off. Rose stripped a wire with unneeded ferocity and Eleanor growled under her breathe. Rose dropped the wire to the ground as Jack approached them, saying goodbye.

"It's been fun!" Jack said, trying to keep it light. "But I guess this is goodbye."

"Don't say that." Eleanor told him.

"Don't talk like that. The Doctor's gonna do it. You just watch him." Rose said.

"Rose..." Jack said, cupping her face and looking her in the eye. "You are worth fighting for." And he kissed her on the lips before turning to Eleanor.

"Eleanor Thorn, the fellow American with a name like a mermaid... You are more than worth our pain." He said, cupping her face and kissed her on the lips too. He then turned to the Doctor.

"Wish I'd never met you, Doctor!" He said, grinning, and cupped his face too. "I was much better off as a coward." And he kissed him too. He placed a hand on Rose and the Doctor's shoulders, and simply looked at Eleanor, as a tear plopped down her cheek, which he wiped away.

"See ya in hell." He said, and he ran off. The trio watched him leave, devastated.

"He's gonna be all right..." Rose said, trying to convince herself that that was the truth.

The Doctor looked at her and didn't reply.

"Isn't he?" Rose asked, Eleanor took her hand.

Jack stood on a box in the middle of Floor Zero, surrounded by stranded contestants who are talking away, panicking. He fired a few shots into the air for order. They jumped and fell silent.

"One last time. Any volunteers?" Jack asked. Nobody said anything. A group of seven volunteers seperate from the rest, included Lynda, Davitch and his friend. The others shook their heads.

"There's an army about to invade this station. I need every last citizen to monitor defence!" Jack said urgently.

"Don't listen to him! There aren't any Daleks! They disappeared thousands of years ago!" Rodrick said. The floor manager from the Weakest Link stood forwards bravely, and nodded at Jack, who nodded back gratefully.

"Thanks. As for the rest of you... the Daleks will enter the station at Floor 494 and as far as I can tell, they'll head up. Not down. But that's not a promise. So here's a few words of advice; keep quiet. And if you hear fighting up above... if you hear us dying... then tell me that Daleks aren't real." Jack said passionately, and glared at Rodrick.

(A/N aaand I'm sobbing like a baby...)

"Don't make a sound." Jack said. "Let's go." He said to the brave people.

He jumped off the box and headed towards the lift, the eight volunteers bundled inside and the doors closed on the Doctor and Eleanor's army.

Rose, Eleanor and the Doctor were sitting on the floor in the space between the middle row of desks, working in a comfortable silence. There was now only three people left on the floor.

"Suppose..." Rose said. She didnt' continue.

"What?" Eleanor asked after a moment.

"Nothing." Rose said.

"You said 'suppose'." The Doctor said.

"No, I was just thinking.. I mean, obviously you can't, but... you've got a time machine. Why can't you just go back to last week and warn them?" She asked.

"Soon as the TARDIS lands in that second, I become part of events. Stuck in the timeline." The Doctor said.

"Yeah, thought it'd be something like that..." She said, and carried on working.

"There's another thing the TARDIS could do... it could take us away..." He said, and looked up briefly at his two girls with a small smile.

"We could leave. Let history take its course. We go to Marbella in 1989." He said.

Eleanor and Rose smiled softly.

"Yeah, but you'd never do that." Rose said.

"No, but you could ask." He said, meeting both of their eyes.

"Well, we're just too good!" Eleanor exclaimed, causing Rose to snigger. The Doctor smiled at his girls as if they meant everything to him; and they did.

The computer whirred in the background, and the Doctor looked over at it.

"The Delta Wave's started building. How long does it need?" He asked.

The three leaped to their feet and rushed to the computers. The Doctor sat in one of the seats and Rose and El peered over his shoulder. His face fell.

"Is that bad?" Rose asked.

He didn't reply. His head starting sinking to his knees and El sighed angrily, and her head fell into her hands.

"Okay, it's bad. How bad is it?" Rose asked. The Doctor suddenly perked and leaped to his feet, eyes bright.

"Rose Tyler, you're a genius!" Rose smiled eagerly, and he kissed her forehead, Eleanor grinned expectantly waiting for his good news.

"We can do it! If I use the TARDIS to cross my old timeline... yes!" He cried. He shot of to the TARDIS, Eleanor and Rose hot on his heels. They rushed to the console.

"Hold down that and keep position." The Doctor told Rose.

"What's it do?" Rose asked.

"Cancels the buffers. If I'm very clever- and I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant- I might save the world. Or rip it apart." He said, and quickly moved to Eleanor.

"We might do it, El girl." He said, and kissed her forehead. Unknown to the two girls, his eyes were watering and he tried to hold on as long as he could to his soul mate.

"I'd go for the first one." Rose said, Eleanor grinned.

"Me too." He said, and rushed back to the console. "Now, I've just go to go and power up the Game Station. Hold on!" He said and rushed out of the TARDIS. Rose and El looked at each other, grinning. And then Eleanor understood what he was doing and her smile faded.

"NO!" She roared, and followed him, but she was too late. The door slammed shut in her face, leaving a devastated Doctor behind. He looked at the TARDIS, his hearts and soul ripped out once again and shoved in a bin. Rose was still oblivious, despite Eleanor's cry.

"Doctor, what're you doing? Can I take my hand off? It's moving?" Rose asked, her smile falling as the engine groaned and the rotor rose and fell. Eleanor was quietly crying near the doors.

The Doctor was pointing his sonic at the TARDIS, soulessly looking as his soul mate and friend left. Rose realised too what was happening and launched herself across the room and threw herself at the door. Eleanor didn't help.

She hadn't even told him that she loved him.

"Let us out! Doctor, what've you done?" Rose demanded, throwing herself more and more at the door.

The Doctor finally lowered his sonic as the TARDIS disappeared, and once again, he was a broken man. Tired, saddened and distraught, the Doctor had no plan and he didn't know what to do.

A hologram of the Doctor appeared in the TARDIS, and Eleanor and Rose turned to look at him expectantly.

"This is Emergency Programme One. Eleanor, Rose, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing." The hologram said.

And Eleanor wiped her tears away.

"We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape."

Eleanor sobbed again.

"No!" Rose cried.

"And that's okay. Hope it's a good death." The hologram said. "But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home."

"I won't let you." Eleanor whispered.

"And I bet, Eleanor, you're fussing and complaining- typical. But hold on and listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for me. Emergency Programme One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do. Let the TARDIS die."

Eleanor sobbed again, she couldn't leave the TARDIS!

"Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it; no one will even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner. And over the years, the world will move on and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all. One thing." He said. "Have a good life. Do that for me Eleanor. Have a fantastic life." The Doctor said, and he turned to look at her as if he knew she was there. "Love someone else, despite our bond. Don't be guilty, because you know I love you." He said. And then he turned to Rose. "And if you don't have a great life, I'm going to haunt whoever didn't let you have it." He said, and smiled to himself.

The hologram flickered, and there was nothing the ladies could do.

"You can't do this to me." Eleanor shrieked, and the two moved to the console. "You can't."

Rose shrieked too, and raged at the TARDIS, slamming down all the buttons and pulling all the levers.

"Take us back! Take us back!" She called, crying. Eleanor slumped to the floor, crying her heart out. The TARDIS wouldn't do anything. The engines eventually grounded to a halt and Rose and Eleanor, holding hands, rushed and flung the doors open.

Modern London.

Block of flats.

The two ran back, refusing to come to terms with what happened.

"Come on, fly. How do you fly? Come on, HELP ME!" Rose cried. Nothing happened.

Mickey Smith sprinted from around a corner at the end of the road and continued down the street to see Rose and Eleanor stepping miserably from the TARDIS. Eleanor stepped back in, and out with a sleeping Scarlet in her arms. They leaned against the TARDIS when Mickey came up to them.

"I knew it! I was all the way down Clifton's Parade, and I heard the engines and I thought 'there's only one thing that makes a noise like that'." He said, grinning. As he moved closer, he noticed that something was wrong. "What is it?" He asked, and he watched Rose and Eleanor sniffle and try to stop themselves from crying.

Rose said nothing, just turned to him, clinging to him and screwing her face up against the pain. Eleanor couldn't take it anymore, and collapsed on the ground, cradling the little girl but dripping countless tears into her hair.

*

The Doctor was working alone.

"Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen- can you read them out to me?" Jack asked over the intercom.

"She's not here." The Doctor said.

"Try Eleanor then." He said.

"She's not here either." The Doctor said, his voice breaking at that.

"Of all the times to take a leak! When they get back, tell one of them to read me the codes!" He said.

"They're not coming back."

"What d'you mean? Where'd they go?" Jack asked.

"Just get on with your work." The Doctor said.

(A/N - PLAY WITH OR WITHOUT YOU BY U2)

"You took them home, didn't you?" Jack asked.

"Yeah."

Jack nodded, not surprised. He realised how hopeless everything was.

"The Delta Wave... is it ever gonna be ready?" Jack asked.

"Tell him the truth, Doctor." The Emperor Dalek said, and the Doctor looked up to see the Emperor Dalek projected onto the screen.

"There is every possibility that the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path- with no distinction between Human and Dalek. All things will die. By your hand." The Emperor said.

The Doctor didn't happen.

"Doctor... the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth." Jack said, warningly.

"You would destroy Daleks and Humans together. If I am God, then what does that make you, Doctor?"

"There are colonies out there. The Human Race would survive in some shape or form, but you're the only Daleks in existence. The whole universe is in danger if I let you live." The Doctor said. "Do you see, Jack? That's the decision I've got to make for every living thing. Die as a human or live as a Dalek. What would you do?" He asked.

"You sent them home. Eleanor's safe. Keep working." Jack said.

"But he will exterminate you!" The Emperor said.

"Never doubted him, never will." Jack said, grinning. The Doctor grinned too, and jumped to his feet, energised by Jack's trust. He strode across to the screen.

"Now, you tell me, 'God of all Daleks' - 'cos there's one thing I never worked out. The words 'Bad Wolf', spread across time and space. Everywhere, drawing me in. How'd you manage that?"

"I did nothing." The Emperor said.

"Oh, come on. There's no secrets now, your worship." The Doctor said.

"They are not part of my design."

I am desperate to write this ending, and everyone knows what happens with the Doctor, so I'm going to concentrate on Rose and Eleanor, I hope that's okay.

"And it's gone up market, this place. They're doing little tubs of coleslaw, now." Jackie Tyler said to a depressed Rose and heart broken Eleanor. They were sitting in a chip shop, but Rose and Elenaor's food was untouched. They were both dreamily looking out the window, thinking of the same thing.

Eleanor's Doctor was fighting an impossible war.

"It's not very nice. Tastes a bit.. sort of... clinical." Jackie continued.

"Have you tried that new pizza place down Minto Road?" Mickey asked Rose.

"What's it selling?" Jackie asked.

"Pizza." Mickey replied.

"Oh, that's nice." Jackie commented. "Do they deliver?"

"Yeah!" Mickey exclaimed. Jackie looked at Rose and Eleanor. After knowing Eleanor for a lot longer than Eleanor knew here, she'd become quite protective over the young girl. She thought of her as another daughter.

"Oh, Rose, Ellie. Have something to eat..." Jackie pleaded. El's bottom lip trembled, and her eyes watered.

"Two hundred thousand years in the future, he's dying and there's nothing we can do." Rose said, her voice wavering.

"Well, like you said, two hundred thousand years, it's way off!" Jackie said.

"But it's not! It's right now! That fight is happening right now, and he's fighting for us! For the whole planet, and I'm just sitting here eating chips!" Rose said, angry and upset. Eleanor was detatched, she hadn't said one word since leaving the TARDIS.

"Listen to me." Jackie said. Rose turned to face her mother, but Eleanor hadn't been listening.

"God knows I have hated that man, but right now, I love him - and d'you know why? Because he did the right thing. He sent you back to me." Jackie said. She returned back to her chips.

"But what do I do every day, mum? What do I do? Get up - catch the bus - go to work - come back home - eat chipsand go to bed? Is that it?" Rose demanded.

"It's what the rest of us do." Jackie said.

"But we can't!" Rose said, gesturing to Eleanor and herself.

"Why, 'cos you're better than us?" Mickey asked.

"No, I didn't mean that!" Rose exclaimed, and paused, trying to calm down.

"But it was... it was a betterlife. And I - I don't mean all the travelling and... seeing aliens and spaceships and things - that don't matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of livingyour life. You know. He showed you too. That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away, and I just can't-" Rose said, and a silent sob racked through Eleanor's body as El stood up, and kicked the table next to the family over, knocking condiments all over the floor and she stormed out, overcome with emotion, angry, afraid and heart broken.

Rose followed her out.

Mickey found the two sat on a bench and he sat next to Rose.

"You can't spend the rest of your life thinking about the Doctor." Mickey said.

"He was my soul mate." Eleanor wavered, the first time she'd spoken in a long time.

"You'll find another one." Mickey said. Rose glared at him.

"She means a real soul mate. Literally. They had a bond." Rose snapped. "And how are we supposed to forget him? She's a Time Lord!" Rose exclaimed.

"You've got to start living your own lives." Mickey said. Eleanor walked away from the couple. Mickey looked after her, worried.

"You know, a proper life. Like the kind he's never had. The sort of life that you could have with me." Mickey continued. Rose's attention had wandered to Eleanor, walking away from them, going back to the TARDIS. Eleanor had seen the words 'Bad Wolf' spray painted on a wall, and made a connection. Rose sprinted after the girl, and Mickey reluctantly followed Rose. Jackie was looking after Scarlet, trying to get a weight of Eleanor's mind.

Back at the TARDIS, Eleanor rifled through her jacket pocket, and pulled out the fob watch. If she could become a Time Lord, she could work the TARDIS and fly back.

"Not now." The fob watch said, and it wouldn't open for her. She squealed in frustration and threw the watch onto the ground. Rose didn't know what to do.

Eleanor looked around wildly, and her attention focused on the control panel.

"All the TARDIS needs to do is make a return trip. I don't care if I die, as long as I'm with him." Eleanor muttered.

"You can't do it though." Mickey said.

"As if. I can do anything, I'm half and half baby." Eleanor grinned, and gestured towards the controls. Rose gasped.

"The middle bit... that opened." Rose said, gesturing to the console, when the Slitheen had looked into the heart of the TARDIS.

"The heart of the TARDIS." Eleanor confirmed. "We can make contact." She grinned,

"Rose..." Mickey said.

"Mm?" Rose asked, smiling with Eleanor.

"If you go back, you're gonna die. Both of ya." Mickey said quietly.

"That's a risk we've gotta take." Rose said. "'Cos there's nothing left for me here."

"Nothing?" Mickey asked.

"No." Rose replied, looking away from Mickey's eyes. It hurt him more than she knew.

"Okay, if that's what you think... let's get this thing open." He said.

The TARDIS console was chained up to a car, which was trying to pull the compartment off.

"Faster!" Eleanor yelled. Mickey slammed his foot down, trying so hard that smoke billowed out from under the car, but the console refused to budge.

"Come on!" Mickey yelled.

"It's not moving!" Rose yelled to El. El growled, as did Mickey, with effort. Rose chewed her lip, El jumped up and down. The chain shuddered, and then snapped. Eleanor shrieked in anger, and Rose kicked the console and leaned on it. Defeated.

Rose slumped on the jump seat, and Eleanor was staring at the console intently. They were broken and defeated. Jackie and Scarlet were in the TARDIS too.

"It was never gonna work, sweethearts. And the Doctor knew that. He just wanted you to be safe." Jackie assured them both.

"We can't give up." Rose said.

"Lock the door. Walk away." Jackie insisted.

"Dad wouldn't give up." Rose snapped. Jackie stared at her daughter.

"Well he's not here, is he?" Jackie asked. "And even if he was, he'd say the same."

"No, he wouldn't." Rose said. "He'd tell me to try anything. If I could save the Doctor's life with El... try anything." Rose said.

"Well, you're never gonna know." Jackie retorted.

"Well, I know. 'Cos I met him. I met Dad." Rose said.

"Don't be ridiculous." Jackie said.

"The Doctor took me back in time, and I met Dad." Rose said.

"Don't say that." Jackie replied.

"Remember when Dad died? There was someone with him." Rose said, crying. "A girl. A blonde girl. She held his hand..." She said, and Jackie stared at her. "You saw her from a distance, mum! You saw her! Think about it! That was me. You saw me-"

"Stop it." Jackie warned.

"That's how good the Doctor is-" Rose said.

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Jackie cried. She ran from the TARDIS, crying, leaving Rose and Eleanor alone.

"There's gotta be something else we can do." Mickey insisted, leaning on his car.

"Mum was right... maybe we should just lock the door and walk away." Rose said.

"No." Eleanor piped up.

"I'm not having that. I'm not having you just... just give up now. No way. We just need something stronger than my car... something bigger.. something like that!" He shouted, pointing to the massive truck that Jackie was driving up the road.

"Right. You've only got this until six, so get on with it." Jackie said.

"Mum, where the hell did you get that from?" Rose asked, amused.

"Rodrigo. He owes me a favour. Never mind why, but you were right about your dad, sweetheart. He was full of mad ideas, and this is exactlywhat he would've done. Now, get on with it before I change my mind." Jackie replied.

She chucked the keys to Mickey, who caught them and nodded his thanks. Rose and El ran back to the TARDIS, and Mickey rushed to the truck.

"Keep going!" Rose yelled.

"Put your foot down!" Jackie called to Mickey.

Mickey did.

"Faster!" Eleanor yelled, in the TARDIS.

"Give it some more, Mickey!" Jackie yelled. Mickey growled with effort. The metal was creaking.

"Keep going!" Rose called.

"Give it some more!"

The catch ripped and the panel flew off. A blinding white light poured out, right into Eleanor. Rose rushed away, backing off at the jump seat, and quickly shoved Scarlet out of the TARDIS with her boyfriend and mother before the doors shut.

The light was reflecting on Eleanor, and she looked almost Godly. The light flowed into her eyes in golden streams.

The TARDIS hurtled through the vortex, with unnatural speed.

Eleanor was hypnotised by the heart, and Rose didn't know what to do, she was just happy that it worked.

The Doctor flashed around, after closing his eyes, ready to be killed by the Daleks. He could hear the TARDIS engines.

"ALERT! TARDIS MATERIALISING!"

The Doctor's eyes snapped open in shock.

"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!" The Emperor yelled.

The TARDIS materialised, and the doors flew open. The Doctor covered his eyes from the blinding light that flowed from the TARDIS, and Rose stumbled out first, blinking rapidly. Eleanor stumbled out second, the light curling around her, her eyes golden, tears rolling down her cheeks, her hair blowing in a wind. The Doctor fell to the ground, scared.

"What've you done?" He asked his love.

Eleanor gazed down at him, her eyes full of the Vortex. When she spoke, her American accent vanished, and she spoke oddly, as if she was electric.

"I looked into the TARDIS. And the TARDIS looked into me. I was not ready." She spoke.

"You looked into the Time Vortex, Eleanor. No one's meant to see that." He said.

"THIS IS ABOMINATION!" The Emperor called.

"EXTERMINATE!"

The Dalek fired at Eleanor, who's golden orange hair blew around in tendrils around her, and she looked like a beautiful thing from another world. The Doctor was awe struck.

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words..." She said, and she waved her hands. The words 'Bad Wolf Corporation' were written on the wall. The Doctor was gazing at his soul mate intensely.

"I scatter them in time and space." Her voice sounded broken.

The words 'Bad Wolf' rose from the wall and scattered and floated away.

"A message to lead myself here." She spoke.

"Eleanor, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now." The Doctor said, urgently.

Eleanor stared straight ahead, as if she hadn't heard him.

"You've got the entire vortex running through your head. You're gonna burn." He said, wildly concerned for his love.

"I want you safe." Eleanor said, turning to him, tears running down her cheeks.

"My Doctor. The love of my life. Protected from the false God." Eleanor said.

"YOU CANNOT HURT ME, I AM IMMORTAL." The Emperor said.

"You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space- every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." She spoke, and raised her hand. The Dalek seperated into tiny, golden liquid particles.

"Everything must come to dust...all things. Everything dies." She looked to the side and the Daleks were reduced to particles. "The Time War ends."

"I WILL NOT DIE, I CANNOT DIE!" The Emperor said.

The entire ship was reduced to particles, dissolving into oblivion.

"Eleanor, you've done it, now stop. Let go."

"How can I let go of this? I bring life..." Eleanor said, blissfully.

Jack suddenly breathed and his eyes snapped open. He was alive again.

"But this is wrong! You can't control life and death!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"But I can. The sun and the moon... the day and night." Eleanor cried, looking at her soul mate. "But why do they hurt?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"The power's gonna kill you and it's my fault." The Doctor said, helplessly. He lowered his head in agony.

"I can see everything." Eleanor said, crying.

"All that is... all that was.. all that ever could be." She spoke.

The Doctor stood up abruptly, looking at her.

"That's what I see. All the time. And doesn't it drive you mad?" He asked her, staring at her lovingly.

"My head..." Eleanor said, terrified and hurt.

"Come here." The Doctor said.

"...it's killing me..." She said.

"I think you need a Doctor." He told his Eleanor, and took her hands. They faced each other, and the Doctor gazed into her eyes, and pressed his lips against hers. During the kiss, the Time Vortex left one soul mate and entered the other. They parted slowly, and gazed at each other before Eleanor's eyes fluttered gently closed and she collapsed. He led her on the floor and then stood straight, facing the TARDIS calmly. The Time Vortex expelled through his mouth, and streamed back into the TARDIS.

The doors closed quietly, and the TARDIS was normal again. The Doctor opened his eyes and smiled to himself, and hugged Rose, who looked terrified. He bent down to Eleanor, and stroked her face and neck tenderly.

Rose was sat on the jump seat, watching the Doctor, concerned as he looked in pain.

Eleanor woke up when a bolt of golden energy burst from her mouth.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Don't you remember?" The Doctor asked, amused.

"It's like... there was this singing." Eleanor said.

"That's right! I sang a song and the Daleks ran way." The Doctor said cheerily, hiding his pain and concern as to why regenerative energy kept erupting from Eleanor.

The Doctor glanced at her hand, then at his. They were glowing with energy.

"Oh." He said.

"What?" Rose asked.

"She started the conversion into Time Lord. She's going to regenerate." The Doctor said. Eleanor gasped and grinned, pleased.

"But it's going to hurt." The Doctor said. "And it's going to happen to me too."

Rose was confused, shaking her head. The Doctor looked at her, amused.

"Rose Tyler. I was gonna take you to so many places. Barcelona, not the city Barcelona- but the planet. You'd love it. Fantastic place, they've got these dogs with no noses." He said, laughing. Rose giggled, Eleanor looked scared as her other hand glowed.

"Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny!" He exclaimed.

"Then, why can't we go?" Rose asked.

"Maybe you will. And maybe we both will. But not like this." the Doctor said.

"You're not making sense." Rose said, standing.

"I might never make sense again! I might have two heads. Or no head! Imagine me with no head!And don't say that's an improvement..."

Rose grinned.

"But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're gonna end up with-"

He was propelled backwards with a blast of golden light, Eleanor shortly doing the same thing. He clutched his stomach, but watched Eleanor concerned as she yelled in agony.

Rose was concerned, not knowing what to do.

"Doctor! El!" She cried.

"Stay away!" the Doctor said,urgently. Eleanor stood up, jumping up and down with the pain.

"Doctor, tell me what's going on." Rose demanded.

"I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that!" The Doctor said, laughing and trying to keep his tone light, despite his pain and despite being worried about his soul mate.

"Every cell in our bodies are dying." Eleanor said, her teeth gritted.

"Why are you dying?" Rose asked El.

"I started the change into Time Lord." El replied, scrunching her face up.

"Can't you do something?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, we're doing it now! Time Lords have this little trick, it's sort of a way of cheating death. Except it means we're gonna change." The Doctor said.

Rose shook her head.

"And I'm not gonna see you again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face. And before I go..." He said.

"Don't say that." Rose demanded.

"Rose.." The Doctor said.

"Before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic." He said, proudly, and Eleanor nodded and smiled through her pain, a tear falling down her cheek.

"And d'you know what?" The Doctor asked. Rose shook her head.

"So was she, and so was I." He said, grinning. Rose smiled, nodding.

The duo convulsed with energy, and golden orange light exploded from their skin, blasting out of their necks and arms and legs. Rose staggered backwards, shielding her eyes.

The Doctor's hair lengthened, his face changed. Eleanor grew taller, her hair changed colour, her face changed, her body shape changed. And then the energy died away and the two stood in front of her, completely different.

For Eleanor, she recognised the Doctor as Ten. She smiled at him.

For the Doctor and Rose, El was completely different.

She was bleach blonde for starters, her hair was just past shoulder length, and was in beachy waves. She was beautiful, with bright blue eyes and full, red lips. They both looked slightly surprised.

"Hello!" Eleanor shouted, with a posh English accent. "Ah!" She squeaked, surprised.

"Hello. Okay...oo." The new Doctor said. He gulped, and Eleanor played with her short hair. Rose looked at them both, confused and concerned.

"New teeth. Eleanor, new teeth." He said. Eleanor felt her teeth and her eyes widened.

"That's odd." She said, and the Doctor laughed at her accent.

"That's weird." He noted, and she grinned. "SO, where was I? Oh, that's right! Barcelona!" He said.

Rose looked at them both, shocked. El and the Doctor joined their hands, and smiled at Rose.

Phew! I've been waiting to write that for so long! Please review/comment.

Please please.

Please.

It took me a long time to write this, I want feedback haha!

-Fay x


	35. The Christmas Invasion

"Oh, my God. I'm a Time Lady." Eleanor breathed, and moved to the console for support. "I'm a Time Lady!" She grinned at Rose. "I remember... everything. Oh! This is odd!" She said.

The Doctor was crashing, he wasn't stable. The TARDIS flew through the vortex, and landed bumpily. Rose and I fell over each other, trying to grab hold of something.

I felt the TARDIS smash into various buildings and crash land on the floor. I pelted over to the Doctor to help him. He looked odd dressed in his leather jacket; I was used to his pin stripe suit. The Doctor stumbled to his feet and crashed outside the TARDIS.

"Here we are then! London! Earth! The Solar System! We did it!" He shouted, happily.

He stumbled outside and I followed.

"Hey Jackie, Mickey." I nodded at them. "Hey Scarlet." I cooed to the little girl, who was clinging to Jackie. She didn't recognise me.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Jackie asked.

"It's me, Eleanor. I changed. Isn't it wonderful?" I asked, grinning. She looked as if she didn't believe me.

"Jackie! Mickey! Blimey! No, no, no, no hold on." The Doctor said, and stumbled backwards. "Wait there, I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you. Something important, what was it? No, hold on, hold on..." He muttered, and placed his hands on Jackie and Mickey's shoulders for support. "Hold on, shush shush shush shush, OH!" He said.

Jackie and Mickey both jumped.

"I know! Merry Christmas!" He panted, and he collapsed.

"Doctor!" I cried, and I rushed to him and bent down. Rose rushed out of the TARDIS at that.

"What happened? Is he all right?" She asked.

"I don't know! He just keeled over! But who is he? And who's she? Where's Eleanor and the Doctor?" Mickey asked.

"That's them. Right in front of you. Eleanor and the Doctor." Rose said.

"The regeneration is overwhelming for him; but I don't know what to do!" Eleanor exclaimed.

"Hang on, what d'you mean, 'Eleanor and the Doctor? Doctor who?" Jackie asked.

*

The Doctor was tucked up in bed, with Eleanor sat by his side, holding his hand. Her whole face was etched with concern, and she was constantly brushing his hair away from his face or pressing a wet cloth to his forehead. Rose could tell just how worried Eleanor was.

Jackie handed a stethoscope to Eleanor, and Rose moved closer, wanting to see as well.

"Here we go. Tina the Cleaner's got this lodger, medical student. And she was fast asleep, so I just took it." Jackie said, and sat next to El on the bed.

"I still can't believe it's you El, you know?" Jackie said. El turned around, sliding the ear pieces into her ears.

"I promise on my life, I am Eleanor." She said. Jackie smiled at the girl.

"Though, I still say we should take him to the hospital." Jackie replied.

"We can't." Rose said. "They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race."

Jackie opened her mouth to say something. "No! Shush!" Rose exclaimed to her mother.

Jackie stopped and turned back to El and the Doctor. She placed the stethoscope on one side on his chest, steady heartbeat. She moved it to the other side of his chest, again, steady heartbeat.

"Both working." Eleanor said, and put the stethoscope down.

"What d''you mean, both?" Jackie asked.

"The Doctor and I have two hearts." El smiled.

"Oh, don't be stupid." Jackie told the girl.

"They have!" Rose exclaimed, and moved to the door.

"Anything else he's got two of?" Jackie said.

"Leave him alone." Rose warned. Rose left the room, and Jackie peered at the Doctor before leaving.

Eleanor watched as her soul mate's mouth opened and a wisp of golden Time Vortex escaped him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Theta." Eleanor cooed, and kissed his cheek.

In the kitchen, Rose looked in the fridge and grabbed some food.

"How can they go changing their faces?" Jackie asked. Rose closed the fridge. "Is it a different face or are they different people?"

"How should I know?" Rose asked, frustrated. She stopped, looking guilty. "Sorry." She said. Jackie nodded at her daughter.

"The thing is.. I thought I knew them, mum." Rose said, with tears in her eyes. "I thought me and them were... and then they go and do this." She cried, and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I keep forgetting they're not human." She sniffed.

She took her mother's hand and tried to make her voice light hearted again.

"The big question is... where'd you get a pair of men's pyjamas from?" Rose asked, smiling.

"Howard's been staying over." Jackie replied, walking away.

"What, Howard from the market? How long's that been going on?" Rose asked.

"A month or so. First of all, he starts delivering to the door and I thought, that's a bit odd. Next thing you know, it's a bag of oranges-" Jackie rambled. Rose was distracted by the TV.

"Is that Harriet Jones?" Rose asked, delighted, and she left the kitchen and went into the living room.

"Oh, never mind me..." Jackie said.

*

Eleanor wiped a tear away from her face. "I can't go home now, can I Doctor? My parents... I can't involve them in this." She still had his hand. "And we can't keep Scarlet... it's far too dangerous. She got shot!" She exclaimed, as another tear ran down her face. "She'll have to go to a foster home, or something."

Eleanor groaned, and closed her eyes, willing for the Doctor to wake up and reassure her.

"Why's she on the telly?" Rose asked.

"She's Prime Minister now. I'm eighteen quid a week better off." Jackie said. Rose grinned. "They're calling it Britain's Golden Age. Keep on saying, 'my Rose has met her.'"

"Did more than that. Stopped World War Three with her. Harriet Jones..." Rose sighed.

"Harriet Jones- what about those calling the Guinevere One Space Probe a waste of money?" The presenter asked.

"Now, that's where you're wrong. I completely disagree if you don't mind." Harriet Jones replied, causing Rose to laugh. "The Guinevere One Space Probe represents this country's limitless ambition. British workmanship sailing up there among the stars."

"This is the spirit of Christmas, birth and rejoicing, and the dawn of a new age, and that is what we're achieving fifteen million miles away. Our very own miracle." A reporter said.

"The unmanned probe Guinevere One is about to make its final descent. Photographs of the Martian Landscape should be received by midnight tonight." Another reporter said.

*

Rose, Mickey and Eleanor were walking down a street together, Rose and El determined to do their Christmas shopping. Mickey and Rose had had to convince Eleanor to go, but after about an hour, she sighed and agreed to join them.

"So, er, what d'you need?" Mickey asked. "Twenty quid?" Rose took the money.

"Do you mind? I'll pay you back." She replied.

"Call it a Christmas present." Mickey laughed. Eleanor took the wad of cash that the Doctor had given her out of her jacket pocket, she had intended to give it back, but she had better plans with it now.

She split it into three and gave each of her friends some.

"What's this?" Rose asked.

"The Doctor gave it me to buy a house, remember? I kept it." Eleanor explained.

"I can't take this." Mickey said, as the two girls put the money away.

"It's the Doctor's Christmas present to you." Eleanor smiled to him, and he begrudgingly pocketed it.

"God, I'm all out of sync. You just forget about Christmas and things in the TARDIS. They don't exist. You get sort of... timeless." Rose sighed.

"Oh, yeah, that's fascinating. Cos I love hearing stories about the TARDIS. OH, go on Rose. Tell us another one cos I ... wow, I could listen to it all day. TARDIS this, TARDIS that..." Mickey muttered.

"Shut up!" Rose said, smiling.

"Oh! One time, in a biiiig yellow garden, full of balloons." Mickey said, smiling and Eleanor giggled.

"We're not like that!" El said.

"Oh, you so are." Mickey grinned.

"Hm, must drive you mad. I'm surprised you don't give up on me." Rose said.

"Oh, that's the thing, isn't it? You can rely on me. I don't go changing my face." Mickey replied.

"Hey!" Eleanor cried.

"Yeah. What if he's dying?" Rose asked.

"Okay..." Mickey said, stopping.

"Sorry!" Rose exclaimed. Mickey took her hands, not noticing that Eleanor was running away from them, quickly going into any shop, buying any present, and running back to the flats; anxious to get back to the Doctor.

"Just let it be Christmas! Could you do that? Just for a bit. You and me, and Christmas. No... no Doctor, no... no bog monsters... no life or death." Mickey said.

"Okay." Rose said.

"Promise?" Mickey asked.

"Yes!" Rose exclaimed, and looked around. "Where's Ellie?" She asked, and turned around, to see the girl almost back at the flats. She sighed and turned back to Mickey.

"Leave her, she's worried." Mickey said, and they started walking again. "What're you gonna get for your mum?" He continued to chat to her, but Rose wasn't listening.

She looked back at the brass band dressed as Santas, she gazed at them for a while, sensing something was wrong. Suddenly, their trumpets turned into flame throwers, and flames shot out of them. People everywhere started screaming and running away from the band. Rose and Mickey ducked behind a stall.

"It's us! They're after us!" Rose shouted. The santas blasted the stall they were hiding behind, and Rose screamed. Rose and Mickey got up and ran down the street.

"What's going on? What've we done? Why are they after us?" Mickey asked, frantically.

"Taxi!" Rose called, and they clambered into the taxi.

"They're after the Doctor and El."

"I can't even go shopping with you. We get attacked by a brass band." Mickey complained. Rose pulled out her phone and dialled a number.

"Who're you phoning?" He asked.

"My mum." Rose replied, and put the phone up to her ear.

Eleanor walked into the Tyler's flat, and straight into the bedroom where the Doctor was sleeping. She waved at Jackie, who was talking on the phone.

"She turns up- no warning. I've got nothing in. I said, 'Rose if you want a Christmas dinner of meat paste, then so be it.'" Jackie said. She picked up two cups of tea, and gave one to Eleanor, who thanked her gratefully. She sat down beside the Doctor; seeing as Eleanor was just stood by the door watching him. ~

"Oh, no. Don't come round, darling. No, the flat's all topsy turvy." Jackie moaned, and put her own mug of tea on the bed side table. "Yeah, she just barges in and litters the place. Yeah, no- I'll come round and see you on boxing day."

She left the room, and Eleanor sighed as more of the vortex escaped through the Doctor's voice.

"I don't know what to do!" Eleanor groaned, exasperated.

The taxi pulled up outside and Rose and Mickey sprinted into Jackie's flat.

"So, save us a chipolata..." Jackie said, still on the phone.

"Get off the phone!" Rose exclaimed.

"It's only Bev! She says hello." Jackie replied. Rose snatched the phone of her mother.

"Bev? Yeah- look, it'll have to wait." Rose told her. She hung up and looked at her mum and boyfriend.

"Right, it's not safe, we've gotta get out- where can we go?" Rose asked.

"What happened?" Eleanor asked, coming out of the room and tying her blonde hair up into a pony tail.

"These santa things, blew fire out of their trumpets. I think they want the Doctor." Rose explained. Eleanor closed her eyes and sighed.

"My mate Stan, he'll put us up." Mickey said.

"That's only two streets away." Rose said, and turned to Jackie. "What about Mo? Where's she living now?"

"I dunno! Peak District!" Jackie replied.

"Oh, we'll go to cousin Mo's then." Rose concluded.

"It's Christmas Eve! We're not going anywhere! What're you babbling about?" Jackie demanded.

"Mum.." Rose started.

She stopped as she noticed a christmas tree in the corner of the room. El noticed too, and looked curious.

"Where'd you get that tree?" Rose asked.

"That's a new tree." Eleanor said. "Where'd you get it?"

"Well, I thought it was you three!" Jackie said.

"How can it be me?" Rose asked.

"Well, you went shopping, there was a ring at the door, and there it was!" Jackie said.

"No, that wasn't me."

"Then who was it...?" Jackie asked. They all stared at the tree as the lights lit up. Eleanor gasped and stood in front of everyone, protecting them.

"You gotta be kidding me." Eleanor muttered.

The tree slowly started to spin, increasing with speed all the time. Eleanor squeaked, and Jackie screamed. It smashed into the coffee table and reduced it to splinters in seconds.

"Go, go, go! Get out!" Mickey cried, and the three women dived out of the room. Mickey grabbed a chair and held it in front of the tree, attempting to break it or something. Rose, El, and Jackie ran into the Doctor's bedroom.

"We have to save the Doctor." Rose said.

"I need to think! My Time Lord brain hasn't finished changing yet; I'm still remembering stuff! I don't know what to do!" Eleanor roared, moving to the Doctor's side.

"What're you doing?" Jackie asked.

"We can't just leave him!" Rose exclaimed.

"Mickey!" Jackie cried. The Christmas tree was chopping the legs off the chair.

"Leave it! Get out! Get out!" Jackie cried. "Mickey! Get out of there!"

Mickey gave up and ran and joined the ladies.

"Just leave him!" Jackie begged Eleanor and Rose.

"Get in here!" Mickey said, and they rushed into the bedroom and Mickey shut the door.

The Christmas tree smashed through a pane of glass. Eleanor took the sonic from the Doctor's leather jacket. The wardrobe started to shake as the Christmas tree tried to get in the door. Jackie started screaming. Rose was watching El intently. El placed the sonic in the Doctor's hand, but he remained lifeless. The Christmas tree smashed through the wardrobe barricading the door, and Eleanor bent over the Doctor..

"Theta, wake up!" She begged.

The tree span into the room and Mickey and Jackie leaned against the wardrobe.

"I'm gonna get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie squeaked.

Eleanor, desperate and shaking, bent down to her soul mate's ear.

"Help me." She said. El drew back, and Rose grabbed her hand for support and comfort. The Doctor suddenly sat up straight and pointed the sonic at the tree, which exploded.

"Remote control. But who's controlling it?" The Doctor asked, and got out of bed. Eleanor immediately helped him, but he shook her off and grabbed her hand instead.

They walked out onto the balcony, securing his dressing gown as they want. Rose, Jackie and Mickey followed the couple. Outside stood three santas.

"That's them. What are they?" Mickey asked. The Doctor raised his sonic and pointed it at the santas, threatening them. They backed away, standing closer together. They suddenly teleported away.

"They've just gone! What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's gonna scare them off." Mickey said.

"Pilot fish." The Doctor replied.

"What?" Rose asked. Everyone looked at the Doctor.

"They were just Pilot Fish." The Doctor said, and suddenly coughed and threw himself backwards against the wall, in pain. Eleanor looked like she was sharing his pain, and she rushed over to the wall with him and made sure he was watching her. They looked into each others eyes for a moment, and it seemed to give him strength.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"You woke me up too soon.." The Doctor panted. "I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." He said. More of the vortex burst out of his mouth. Eleanor grimaced.

"You see? The Pilot Fish could smell it. A million miles away. So they eliminate the defence- that's you lot- and they carry me and El off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of year-" He said, and lurched forwards, groaning. Eleanor grabbed his hand, and he squeezed it hard.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Jackie shouted, panicking.

"My head!" The Doctor said, with gritted teeth. Eleanor had a tear snaking down her face, she could literally feel his pain; she was using their soul mate bond and she was taking some of the pain away from her and giving it to herself. "Stop doing that, I don't want you to hurt." He moaned.

Jackie bent down and held him up.

"I'm having a neuron implosion. I need-" The Doctor said, Eleanor herself was trying not to pass out from the pain she had taken from him.

"What do you need?" Jackie asked, frantically.

"I need-"

Say it, tell me, tell me-"

"I need-" The Doctor groaned.

"Painkillers?" Jackie asked.

"I need-"

"Do you need aspirin?" Jackie asked.

"I-"

"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I dunno... Pepto Bismol?"

"I need-"

"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"

"I need-"

"Is it food? Something simple? Uh.. A bowl of soup? A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?" She asked, hysterical.

"I need you to shut up." The Doctor grumbled.

"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" Jackie asked, shocked.

The Doctor lurched forwards, and leaned against the opposite wall.

"What's El doing?" Jackie asked.

"She's taking some of the pain away from me." The Doctor said, glaring at his soul mate, who was leaning against a wall, her eyes closed and her breathing sharp and heavy. "We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then..." The Doctor said. He took an apple out of the dressing gown. "Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?" He asked.

"Oh, that's Howard, sorry." Jackie apologized.

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?" El panted.

"He gets hungry." Jackie sighed.

"What he gets hungry in his sleep?" The Doctor asked, confused.

"Sometimes." She said. 


	36. Having A Picnic While The World Ends

Sorry that this is late, but I've been revising and doing exams and I still have them coming. Today were my English language exams, and I'm so glad they're out the way. Hopefully I'll have gotten A*'s (not a joke) so I won't have to resit. I got A*'s in my mock so hopefully it will be the same for these. Anyway... on with the chapter!

The Doctor grimaced with pain and shouted as he sank to the floor. I rushed over, yet again touching him and taking more of his pain anyway. He shot me an exasperated look, clearly not wanting me to do so. I shrugged, yet when the pain surged over me, I yelped and clenched my eyes together.

"P... Pilot fish. The Pilot Fish mean... that something... something." The Doctor tried saying to Rose, as my head numbed and my eyes grew blurry. I'd taken too much of his power and pain. He knew it too, as he kept whining; not due to the pain. "Something's coming." He breathed, and Rose's eyes grew wide.

The Doctor collapsed on Rose, and I was heading the same way.

Mickey carried Eleanor, and Jackie and Rose carried the Doctor to the bedroom, and tucked them in together on the bed. Eleanor was boiling up, and she kept whining and muttering in her sleep. Even led next to each other, El and the Doctor pointed towards each other, synchronising in how they slept. Their heads were pressed together, as if they had done it subconsciously. Rose sighed, knowing that she would never have that with the Doctor.

To be so comfortable and at ease with each other that they move towards each other, WHILST SLEEPING. Jackie pressed a flannel to Eleanor's head, and Rose to the Doctor's. They were both restless, and constantly moving and edging that little bit closer to each other.

Mickey walked past, holding his laptop. He looked at the two women and the two Time Lords. Rose nodded at him and he continued on walking.

"Jackie, I'm using the phone line. Is that all right?" Mickey called, setting the laptop down on the coffee table and logging on. Jackie walked into the living room and set a cup of tea in front of Mickey and one in front of herself.

"Yeah. Keep a count of it." She warned him. "It's midnight. Christmas day." Jackie muttered as Rose came in and sat on the arm of the chair.

"I don't understand. Why is Ellie suddenly like the Doctor?" Mickey asked.

"What'dya mean?" Rose asked.

"I mean... I knew she was alien... but why has she changed her face, and why is she passed out when she wasn't before?" Mickey asked again.

"I don't know why they changed, the Doctor said it stopped them from dying or something. And she's passed out because those two are soul mates, she took some of the pain from him so he would be comfortable. She took too much."

"Oh." Mickey muttered.

"Any change with them?" Jackie asked, and gave her daughter a cup of tea.

"Eleanor seems fine, she's just sleeping. The Doctor is worse. He's only got one heart beating."

Jackie sighed and plonked down on a chair.

"Here we go, Pilot Fish." Mickey said, looking at his laptop. Rose moved to look. "Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless- they're tiny, but the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish." He explained.

"Do you mean like sharks?" Rose asked.

"Great big sharks. So, what the Doctor means is, we had them... now we get that." Mickey replied.

"Something is coming..." Rose said, as the TV turned static. "How close?"

"There's no way of telling, but the Pilot Fish don't swim far from their daddy." Micky said.

"So, it's close?" Rose asked, as a distorted image appeared on the TV screen.

"Funny sort of rocks." Jackie noted, watching the TV.

"They're not rocks." Eleanor said, walking into the room and rubbing her eyes sleepily. Jackie turned around and smiled at the girl. She moved closer to the TV, watching intently.

"...coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning." The reporter said. The image clarified, and it was an alien which roared viciously. Everyone gasped, except for Eleanor, who stole Rose's tea and took a sip before spitting it out.

"Ew! How can you drink this?" She demanded. The three humans looked at her as if she was crazy. Eleanor slammed the mug on the coffee table and shook her head, walking back into the Doctor's room.

"They're most definitely hostile." Eleanor assured the humans, from the other room.

"Great." Rose muttered.

"Rose." Mickey said, and Rose rushed over to Mickey and the laptop.

"Take a look, I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way." He showed her.

"Coming for what, though? The Doctor?" She asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's coming for all of us." He replied. "Have you seen them before?"

"No." Rose said. "Eleanor might."

"I haven't!" Eleanor called. "But they're called the Sycorax!"

On the TV screen, the Sycorax started to speak in their language.

"I don't understand what they're saying. The TARDIS translates alien languages inside my head, all the time, wherever I am." Rose complained.

"So, why isn't it doing it now?" Mickey asked.

"I don't know. Must be the Doctor and El, like they're part of the circuit, and they're... broken." Rose said, sounding alone and lost.

Eleanor stared at the Doctor breathing heavily while he slept. She had tried waking him up, as she was angry that she couldn't remember what he needed to recover. Jackie moved into the bedroom and sat next to Eleanor's Doctor on the bed.

"Oh, come on, sweetheart. What do you need? What is it you need, tell me..." Jackie said gently, and looked sympathetically at the young Time Lord who had started sniffling miserably.

They stayed like that for about half an hour, and Jackie soon fell asleep next to the Doctor.

Eleanor too was slumped next to the wall, almost sleeping, keeping her narrowed eyes on the Doctor.

Rose was watching the three of them from the doorway.

"The Doctor wouldn't do this. At least not to Eleanor. The old Doctor. The proper Doctor. He'd wake up. He'd save us." Rose muttered.

"He is the real Doctor." Eleanor muttered quietly, before slipping into a sleep.

"She's not the real Eleanor either, she's not American. She's British. She's blond, not ginger. I don't like it. I don't like the new her and I don't like the new him!" Rose gushed.

"You really love him, don't you?" Mickey asked. Rose sighed and closed her eyes, leaning into Mickey for support.

"There's no point in loving him, because no one could compete with her." Rose sighed, pointing to the beautiful and sleeping Eleanor.

Suddenly, the couple heard terrified screams from outside, shouting, screaming and crying. Rose and Mickey rushed to the balcony, which woke Eleanor up. She rushed over too.

Outside were what seemed like hypnotised people, with blue lights on their heads, walking like zombies to roofs and tops of buildings.

"Thought control... Blood control? Something controlling anyway." Eleanor muttered. "But I don't know what to do!" She said through gritted teeth, seething and angry with herself. Rose patted her arm awkwardly, but the young girl turned and stormed off to the Doctor's side, and slumped into a chair near the bed.

Rose and Mickey walked out onto the edge of the roof and looked around. Loved ones tried to take their children, lovers, parents, husbands down from the roof, all to no avail.

"Jason, I'm talking to you! Just stop!" A woman cried to her the people reached the edge of the building, they stopped in their places, waiting.

"What do we do?" Mickey asked.

"Nothing. There's no-one to save us. Not anymore. Not even Eleanor knows what to do." Rose muttered.

On the TV screen, Harriet Jones was making a speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen... if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queen's speech, I'm afraid that's been cancelled. Did we ask about the royal family?" She asked, turning her head to someone off camera. "Oh. They're on the roof. But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request. Doctor, and your love Eleanor. If you're out there... we need you." She said morosely.

Jackie turned to Rose, Mickey and Eleanor, blinking back tears. Everyone blinked back tears.

"I don't know what to do. But if you can hear me, Doctor..." Jones continued. Rose looked away and Eleanor walked back to the bedroom.

"If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him... the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us." Jones finished.

Rose joined a sobbing Eleanor in the bedroom, Rose was also crying. She lent against the door frame, watching the Doctor's lifeless body. She was sobbing, taking gulping breaths. Eleanor stood up and rushed over to Rose, and they hugged each other tightly, their bodies racking with sobs.

Rose let her go, and turned to Jackie, and scrunched her eyes up against the tears.

"He's gone. The Doctor's gone. He's left me, mum. He's left me, us. What's Eleanor gonna do?" Rose sobbed, choking with her tears. Jackie kissed her daughters forehead.

"It's all right... I'm sorry." Jackie said soothingly. Eleanor's sobs turned into hiccups, as she watched her Doctor, her mad man with a box turn into something not much different from a human. The horror.

At that moment, the window smashed and showered the floor with glass as the ground shook dangerously.

"Sonic wave!" Eleanor cried, and the three rushed outside, treading gently on broken glass. Elsewhere, people were doing the same, staring upwards at the sky. A huge spaceship floated into view, obscuring the sun. People stared at it, open mouthed. It hovered bang over London. Rose stared at it before grabbing El's hand and dragging her back into the flat.

"Mickey, we're gonna carry him." Rose said, throwing the duvet off the Doctor. "Mum- Get your stuff. Get some food. We're going." Rose said.

"Well, where to?" Mickey asked. Eleanor had cottoned on, and so helped the young people carry the Doctor.

"The TARDIS. It's the only safe place on Earth right now." Eleanor assured them.

"What're we gonna do in there?" Jackie demanded.

"Hide." Rose replied.

"Is that it?" Jackie exclaimed.

"Mum - look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and - I don't know what to do, alright? I've travelled with him, and I've seen all that stuff but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry. Now, move." Rose demanded, and Jackie left the room. The three lifted the Doctor off the bed and carried him out of the flat, Jackie lumbering behind with several large bags. She dropped one and bent down to pick it up.

"There's no time, Jackie." Eleanor said.

"Will you leave that stuff and just give us a hand?" Rose asked, exasperated.

"It's food! You said we need f-"

"Just leave it!" Rose exclaimed. They carried him down to the TARDIS, Jackie following, still with the shopping bags.

"No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey asked.

"I could, but we need him. He's like the missing link." Eleanor explained. "She needs him to fly."

They placed the missing link on the floor.

"So what do we do, just sit here?" Mickey asked.

"That's as good as it gets." Rose said, frustrated.

"Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea." Jackie said, pulling out a flask. Eleanor's head snapped around, she had begun making the connection.

"Hmm, the solution to everything." Rose said.

"Now, stop your moaning. I'll get the rest of the food." Jackie said, and rushed out of the TARDIS.

Rose lent against the TARDIS and looked as Eleanor sat down next to the Doctor.

"Come on, Theta." She muttered.

"Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British." Mickey said, and El guffawed.  
> <p>


	37. The Doctor's Awakening

Mickey turned and looked at the TARDIS computer screen.

"How does this thing work?" Mickey asked.

"Picks up satellite connections. Every satellite connection." Eleanor muttered wearily. Mickey glanced at her for a moment before turning back to the monitor. She clearly wasn't going to elaborate.

"Maybe we've surrendered." Mickey said. Eleanor nodded sadly as Rose turned away and walked to the jump seat. "What do you do to it?" Mickey asked.

Eleanor heaved herself up off the floor and walked to the screen. She pressed some buttons, twirled a dial, but the TARDIS simply sighed under her. She didn't want to, not when the Doctor was passed out.

"Come on girl." Eleanor murmered, stroking her gently. "Wait. She's not moaning, she's telling us something." Eleanor gasped, as she felt the TARDIS engines whirr to life and the machine start to move.

Outside the TARDIS, Jackie was running out of the flat with more shopping bags. She watched, outraged and dismayed as the TARDIS began to disappear.

"Rose?" She asked, and ran towards the ship. "Rose!"

Jackie stared up at the sky, where her daughter had been whisked away to.

The TARDIS console was bleeping furiously, Mickey and Rose were watching Eleanor running around, much like the Doctor himself, trying to find out what was going on.

"Why is it doing this?" El muttered.

"Maybe it's a distress signal." Mickey inputted.

"Fat lot of good that's gonna do." Rose interjected. Eleanor huffed as she glared at the TARDIS.

"Are you gonna be a misery all the time?" Mickey demanded to Rose. Rose crossed her arms.

"Yes." She spat.

"You should look at it from my point of view. Stuck in here with your mum's cooking." Mickey joked. Eleanor smirked, despite herself.

"Where is she?" Rose asked, looking around for Jackie. Mickey shrugged, as did Eleanor. Rose jumped to her feet and headed to the door.

"I'd better go and give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there." Rose said.

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine." Mickey said, Eleanor snorted.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Rose asked.

"He's not got the balls." Eleanor said, and Mickey looked up and grinned at the young Time Lady.

"Oh, I don't know..." Rose said, smirking coyly. She had her hand on the door handle, and she threw the door open. Mickey smiled back at her.

She stepped outside, and Eleanor launched herself out the doors when she heard her scream.

"I should have known! We've been teleported Mickey boy!" She shouted, and Mickey dived out the doors after her. As he did so, Mickey dropped the flask containing tea on the floor near the Doctor, which started to leak.

Rose was in a Sycorax's arms, screaming and wriggling to get away. It looked like a large stone courtroom, with millions of the aliens sat in the wings, watching and laughing. Mocking the little humans.

"Get off her! If you don't put her down right now, I'll... I'll sonic you!" Eleanor warned, pulling the Doctor's sonic out of her pocket and brandishing it wildly. The Sycorax pretended to be scared, until he burst out laughing. The whole court started laughing hysterically. Eleanor swallowed and pocketed the sonic, glaring at the aliens.

"The door! Close the door!" Rose shouted to Mickey. Mickey dashed to the door and slammed it shut, before Mickey and Eleanor were both grabbed by a Sycorax.

The Doctor was led lifeless on the floor of the TARDIS, the tea dripping down the grated floor into the machinery below. Steam billowed up.

The Sycorax Leader was shouting in a foreign tongue, apparently joyful. Rose looked around and saw Harriet Jones, Prime Minister.

"Rose." Harriet said, slowly. Rose and Harriet hugged each other, terrified. "Rose! I've got you. My Lord. My precious thing." Harriet soothed, hugging the young girl. "The Doctor... is he with you?"

"No. We're all on our own." Rose replied, her voice shaking. Eleanor looked down at the floor, feeling a twitch of connection in her brain. Was he waking up? She looked to the TARDIS, and slowly edged towards the doors after being released by the foul smelling alien.

She sneaked into the ship, and shut the door gently behind her. Nobody had seen her.

The Sycorax leader was meanwhile pointing at Rose and jabbering on in his tongue. Alex, the translator, helped out.

"The yellow girl. She has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet." He translated.

"But she can't." Harriet interjected.

"Yeah, I can." Rose insisted, not taking her eyes off the Sycorax leader.

"Don't you dare." Mickey said, noticing that Eleanor had gone.

"Someone's gotta be the Doctor. And El's gone in there, so she can't do it." Rose said, luckily, the Sycorax were stupid and didn't understand what she meant. Maybe El hadn't been sneaky after all.

"They'll kill you." Harriet said, grabbing Rose's wrist and pulling her back. Rose shook out of her grasp.

"Never stopped those two."

Rose walked towards the leader. The surrounding Sycorax snickered and muttered quietly but excitedly.

"I,, um... I address the Sycorax according to... article fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world with all the authority of the Slitheen Parliament of Raxacoricofallapatorious, and um... the Gelth Confederacy..." Rose muttered, nervous and unsure of herself. The leader strode over to Rose.

"A- as uh... sanctioned... by the Mighty Jagrafess... and... oh, the Daleks! Now, leave this planet in peace! In peace.." She choked and swallowed hard. Everyone was silent.

All at once, the Sycorax burst out laughing. Rose shifted, uncomfortable.

"You are very, very funny." Alex translated, reading off his monitor. The leader began to speak more angrily.

"And now you're going to die." Alex choked.

"Leave her alone!" Harriet shouted, lunging forwards.

"Don't touch her!" Mickey yelled. They were both restrained by the Sycorax. The leader began circling Rose, still speaking to her.

"Did you think you were clever with your stolen words? We are the Sycorax. We astride the darkness." The leader spat, and he hissed at Rose. She lent away from his bad breath and whimpered.

"Next to us you are but a wailing child. If you are the best your planet can offer as a champion..." Alex trailed off, as the Sycorax began speaking in English.

"Then your world will be gutted..." The two spoke together. Rose stared.

"And your people enslaved." The Sycorax leader finished.

"Hold on, that's English." Alex said, finally catching on.

"He's talking English." Harriet insisted.

"You're talking English." Rose added, smirking a little.

"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile!" The Sycorax leader insisted.

"That's English." Rose said, pointing at him. She turned to the other three humans.

"Can you hear English?" They all nodded.

"Yeah, that's English."

"Definitely English."

"I speak only Sycoraxic!" The Sycorax shouted angrily.

"If I can hear English... then it's being translated. Which means it's working. Which means..." Rose said, and she turned slowly to the TARDIS.

The double doors flew open and out twirled the little blonde haired Time Lady and her tall and skinny soul mate. He was smiling, wearing his stripy PJ's and dressing gown.

"Did you miss me?" He asked, smirking.

Rose grinned in delight. The Sycorax roared in fury and lashed his whip at the dynamic duo, and the Doctor caught the end and passed it to Eleanor. She then pulled it in half and chucked it on the floor.

"You could have put someone's eye out with that!" The Doctor shouted. The Sycorax roared and tried to attack the couple with his staff, but again the Doctor caught it and passed it to his lover, who snapped it over her leg and threw that on the floor too.

"You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy." The Doctor said sternly, and turned to Eleanor.

He gently placed both hands on each side of her face and delicately kissed her, drawing along her bottom lip with his tongue before pulling back and turning to Rose. Eleanor gathered her breath and gulped, before turning around too.

"Mickey! Hello!" The Doctor said, happily. He then turned to Harriet. "And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North! Blimey, it's like 'This Is Your Life!'" He said, hyper-actively happy. Eleanor watched, happy, with her arms folded. He turned to Rose and beamed at her.

"Tea." He said.

"Tea!" Eleanor yelled. "I couldn't remember and it was friggin' tea!" She said. The Doctor smirked at her.

"Yep. That's all I needed. A good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses..." He said. He then turned back to Eleanor, a serious look on his face.

"First, I want to thank you for taking the pain away from me, but I'm angry that you did it. You hurt yourself. Silly girl." He said gently. "Secondly, be honest... How do I look?" He asked.

"Wonderfully different." Eleanor grinned.

"Am I... Ginger?" He asked, deadly serious. Eleanor looked just as serious, much to the humans surprise. They were both serious.

"No, you're brunette." She replied.

"And you... You're all blondey! And British! Still pretty though..." He mumbled, the words spilling out his mouth. "You got to be ginger! I wanted to be ginger, I've never been ginger." He complained. He then turned to Rose, angrily.

"And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were- Eleanor constantly tried to wake me up, tried to remember what to do- you gave up on me!" He shouted, pointing at her violently. "Oh, that's rude. That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude. Rude and not ginger." He said, shocking himself. Eleanor nodded grimly and patted her shoulder.

"I'm sorry... Who is this?" Harriet asked, confused.

"I'm the Doctor." He said.

"He's the Doctor." Eleanor confirmed, grinning.

"Who are you, dear?" Harriet asked.

"Eleanor." Eleanor said. Her eyebrows raised.

"The Eleanor that the Doctor wouldn't shut up about?" She asked, and Eleanor turned to face the Doctor, smirking at his blush. "But what happened to my Doctor? Or is it just a title that's just passed on?" Harriet continued, turning back to the Doctor.

"I'm him. I'm literally him. Same man, new face- well new everything." He said, turning to El and winking at her. She winked back and grinned.

"But you can't be." Harriet said, her brow furrowed.

"Harriet Jones. We were trapped in Downing Street, and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens... wasn't the war... it was the thought of your mother being on her own." The Doctor told her.

"Oh, my God." Harriet said.

"Did you win the election?" The Doctor asked, smiling.

"Landslide majority." Harriet replied, pleased with herself.

"If I might interrupt!" The Sycorax leader shouted, and they all span around, forgetting about him.

"Yes! Sorry! Hello, big fella!" The Doctor said, happily.

"Who exactly are you?" The Sycorax asked.

"Well. That's the question." He said, grinning and linking arms with Eleanor.

"I demand to know who you are!" The Sycorax said.

"I DON'T KNOW!" The Doctor shouted, imitating the Sycroax's voice, much to Eleanor's delight. He then relaxed, and grinned at his giggling girlfriend.

"See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I- I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested." He said, walking around. "Am I funny? Am I sarcastic?" He asked.

He turned to look at Eleanor. "Sexy?" He asked, winking at her. She blushed a little and grinned up at him.

"Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob." He said, and then looked down at the big red button in front of him.

"And how am I gonna react when I see this?" He asked. He pointed at the button with an insane smile. "A great big threatening button." The couple ran up the stairs.

"A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances. Am I right Doctor?" Eleanor asked, beaming brightly.

"Bang on, Eleanor dearest." He said, acting stupidly British. "Let me guess, it's some sort of control matrix?"

"That's exactly what I thought. He's got loads of people on building tops." Eleanor informed him.

"What's feeding it then?" The Doctor asked. It seemed in these regenerations, the two worked well together. They fit like a jigsaw.

He bent down and pulled open a small door and noticed the red liquid inside.

"And what have we got here?" The Doctor asked.

"Blood?" El asked. He dipped his finger in the blood and tasted it, before Eleanor did the same. Ew.

"Yeah, definitely. Blood. Human blood." The Doctor said. Eleanor grimaced.

"A Positive." She said. "With just a dash of iron."

The Doctor waggled his tongue around and wiped his fingers on his dressing gown. Eleanor wiped her fingers on his dressing gown too. He stared up at her, surprised. They gazed seriously at each other for a second, the Doctor offended and Eleanor daring him to say something. After a moment she bounded off down the steps. The Doctor followed.

"But this means... Blood control. Blood control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years! You're controlling all the A Positives!" The Doctor said, grinning.

"It's Christmas." El grinned.

"Which leaves us with a great big stinking button. Cos, I don't really know who I am. I don't really know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never ever be pressed... then I just wanna do this." He said, and El and he pressed the button at the same time.

"No!" Rose and Harriet yelled.

All the people on the roof stepped back, becoming normal again. They turned to their loved ones and got down onto normal ground.

"You killed them!" Alex yelled to the Time Lords.

"What do you think, big fella? Are they dead?" The Doctor asked.

"We allow them to live." The Sycorax said.

"I believe, Mr Sycorax sir, you didn't have a choice." Eleanor said in a sing song voice, as she circled him on her tip toes, dancing like a ballerina. Seems the two were a little insane in their regenerations too.

"That's all Blood Control is. Cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis, but you can't hypnotise them to death. Survival instinct's too strong." The Doctor explained.

"Blood control was one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force." The Sycorax warned.

The Doctor and Eleanor shrugged. Not likely.

So, it seems as if Eleanor is a little eccentric in this version of herself. More fun? Insane? Funny, anyway. One more chapter of this story and then it comes to an end, I'm afraid.

Kidding! One more chapter in this story and then I start the sequel :-) I need to decide what I want El to do, and that's where you come in.

Does she,

a.) Continue meeting random Doctor's... minus Scarlet. (I didn't really think her through, I think someone else should look after her)

b.) Stick with one Doctor, and go off on side adventures from my own head.

c.) Stay on Earth for a while, working for Torchwood or Unit, and then go back with the Doctor.

The thing is, I want her to stay with one Doctor, but I'll miss writing the other Doctors. So...

d.) She stays with one Doctor for a couple of chapters/episodes, then travels with another one for a long time too, and then another Doctor etc... I like this one best!

Let me know what you think, you know that your feedback just motivates me to write more!

-Fay x 


	38. The Engagement

I've decided two more chapters in this story, including this one. And then Eleanor's fate shall be determined. Thank you for the votes, keep them coming!

Also, I'm thinking of doing a side story, following a grown up Scarlet; who considers El and the Doctor to be her parents. What do you think? I can't keep her in this story, I misjudged myself, haha.

Let me know, anyway. On with the chapter!

"Well, technically, you could yeah. Of course you could. But what's the point?" Eleanor asked, circling the Sycorax leader with her arms folded behind her back. She gestured to the small group of humans. "These human beings. Consider their potential. Think of the music, the art, the technology they've created over the years. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun. There is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than- no, hold on..." She said, and stopped walking and paused, watching the Doctor as he tried to hide his smirk. "Sorry, that's the Lion King. But the point still stands. Leave them alone!" She said, and childishly stamped her foot.

"Or what?" The Sycorax asked, moving towards Eleanor threateningly, trying to grab her.

"Touch her and you're dead." The Doctor warned, all joking and joy had disappeared from his voice. Eleanor's breath hitched in her throat, and she moved back to him.

The Doctor then moved and grabbed a sword from one of the Sycorax and ran down the steps to the space in front of the TARDIS, and raised it into the air.

"I challenge you." He said harshly.

The Sycorax all burst out laughing. Eleanor shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?" The Doctor asked.

The Sycorax Leader unsheathed his sword. "You stand as this world's champion." He retorted.

The Doctor shrugged off his dressing gown and threw it to Eleanor. "Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up." He said. "So, you accept my challenge? OR are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?" He asked, causing Eleanor to smirk. The Sycorax Leader hissed and the two warriors knelt by their swords.

"For the planet?" The Sycorax.

"For the planet." The Doctor agreed.

"Or maybe we need a stronger motive. Grab the Time Lady." The Sycorax said, and two guards took hold of Eleanor. "For the planet and the girl." The Sycorax amended. The Doctor hissed as he watched his struggling love whimper as they harshly pushed her around.

"For the planet and my girl." He spat, all the more angry. Mickey looked anguished, and tried to help Eleanor, but they grabbed him too. Rose glared at the man, confused as to why he tried to do that.

The Sycorax and the Doctor stood and faced each other, holding their swords at the ready. They ran at each other and began to fight. After a few seconds, the Doctor was thrown to the side. El called out and the Sycorax laughed. The Doctor picked himself up and began to fight again, hell bent on getting Eleanor safe.

"Look out!" Rose called, as the Sycorax swung his sword at the Doctor.

"Oh, yeah, that helped. Wouldn't have thought of that otherwise, thanks." The Doctor said sarcastically, and they began to fight again.

The Doctor led them up a flight of steps, "Bit of fresh air?"

He pressed a button and a door opened, leading to a platform outside the spaceship.

The Sycorax and Eleanor were led out, with caused pain for Eleanor, which the Doctor felt. Rose, Mickey, Harriet and Alex followed also.

The Sycorax managed to smack the Doctor on the nose, causing him to groan. Rose began to run forward, Eleanor was blinded by being turned away from the fight scene. She didn't know what was going on. The Doctor raised a hand to stop Rose.

"Stay back! Invalidate the challenge and he wins Eleanor." He said.

"What about the planet?" Harriet Jones asked.

"That too." The Doctor said, nonchalantly.

He wiped his nose, and the fighters ran back at each other, clashing swords. They both grimaced with the effort, and the Doctor was knocked to the ground. Taking advantage, the Sycorax slashed at the Doctor's wrist, cutting of his hand. The Doctor watched it drop to the floor, and looked at the Sycorax shocked and pissed off. Eleanor heard Rose squeak, and forced herself around.

"Oh, my God." She muttered, seeing her decapitated other.

"You cut my hand off." The Doctor said.

"Yah! Sycorax!" The Leader yelled. The Doctor leaped to his feet.

"And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky. 'Cos quite by chance... I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got enough residual cellular energy... to do this." He said, and he lifted his arm stump up, and his hand grew right back. Eleanor grinned, despite the pain of the Sycorax grabbing her arm.

"Witchcraft." The Sycorax muttered.

"Time Lord!" Eleanor yelled.

"Silence the girl!" The Sycorax ordered. The Doctor yelled as Eleanor was slapped. She yelped and stepped back a little, the force making her a little dizzy.

"Oh, now you've made me mad. Now I'm really mad." The Doctor spat, watching Eleanor grit her teeth against the pain.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled, and threw a new sword to him. He grabbed it artfully.

"Wanna know the best bit? This new hand..." The Doctor said, anger playing in his eyes. "It's a fightin' hand!" He exclaimed, with a texan accent.

He rushed at the Leader, and they clashed swords for a few moments more. The Doctor jabbed the Sycorax hard in the stomach with the handle of his sword, and did it twice more. The Sycorax groaned and fell to the floor. The Doctor pointed his sword at his throat.

"I win. Let Eleanor go." He demanded, and Eleanor was released from their clutches. She rushed to the Doctor's side.

"Are you alright?" She asked, faffing over him.

He ignored her and continued to talk to the Sycorax. "Then kill me." The Sycorax spat.

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this champion's command: leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes." The Sycorax replied.

"Swear on the blood of your species." The Doctor hissed, angrier than ever, jabbing the sword closer to the alien.

"I swear." The Sycorax moaned.

"There we are then! Thanks for that! Cheers, big fella!" He said, lightly, smiling and jabbing the sword into the ground.

"Bravo!" Harriet Jones said, clapping her hands.

"My hero." Eleanor swooned dramatically, grinning as the Doctor grabbed her hand and quickly kissed her gently.

"Yeah! Not bad for a man in his jim-jams!" The Doctor grinned, and Eleanor put the dressing gown back over the Doctor.

"Very Arthur Dent. He was a nice man." Eleanor noted, smirking at fond memories of herself and the Doctor.

The Doctor reached into the dressing gown pocket and pulled out a satsuma. Rose giggled. He passed the fruit to Eleanor.

"A satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mother's-he does like his snacks doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas?" The Doctor asked, grinning as Eleanor threw the satsuma into the air and caught it.

"You go right through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?" He continued.

Behind them, the Sycorax got to his feet and grabbed his sword, rushing for the Doctor.

Without turning around, Eleanor launched the satsuma at a switch on the wall of the ship, and the ground fell beneath the Sycorax. The Doctor's smile faded.

"No second chances. I'm that sort of a man." He said sternly, as the Sycorax plummeted to his death.

The group were stood in front of the TARDIS, and the Doctor spoke to the court of Sycorax.

"By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet.. when you tell them of it's riches-it's people-it's potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It. Is. Defended." The Doctor warned, and the group, including the TARDIS, were teleported away.

ELEANOR'S POV

We materialised just off Bloxom Road, according to Mickey.

"We did it!" Mickey boy exclaimed. I grinned as the spaceship began to whirr to life and speed off.

"And stay out!" I screamed. The Doctor grinned too.

"Go on, my son! Oh, yeah!" Mickey yelled.

"Yeah! Don't come back!" Rose called, jumping onto Mickey's back.

"It is defended!" Mickey continued, as they laughed happily. Rose jumped off his back and hugged him. Rose then hugged a shocked Alex too. The Doctor, and Harriet Jones and I faced each other.

"My Doctor." Harriet said. I coughed lightly. "Eleanor's Doctor too. He wouldn't let me forget that last time we met, always going on about you." She winked at me. I giggled and turned red.

"Enough of that, Prime Minister." The Doctor said, smirking. The two hugged, and then Harriet turned to me.

"I do believe dear, that you've saved him. He's ten times happier than the last time I saw him, even when we beat the Slitheen. You make him happy." She whispered as we hugged. I smiled gently at her.

"And you." She said, turning back to the Doctor. "Absolutely the same man." She said. The Doctor smiled back and we all looked up at the sky.

"Are there many more out there?" Harriet asked.

"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and signals- this planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed... more and more." The Doctor replied.

"You'd better get used to it." I said.

"Rose!" I heard, as Jackie, armed with a small toddler rushed over.

"Mum!" Rose yelled, and rushed over.

"Oh! Talking of trouble!" The Doctor said. "And where was Scarlet?" The Doctor asked, as the young girl was pushed into his arms.

"She was staying with one of Jackie's friends while we sorted this out." I whispered to him, smiling at Scarlet.

"Oh, my God! You did it, Rose! Oh!" Jackie yelled, engulfing her daughter in a hug. Then she turned to me.

"And don't think you're getting away! Come 'ere!" She said, and wrapped me in a hug too, I grinned and hugged her back.

"You did it too! It was the tea! Fixed his head!" Rose told Jackie.

"I said so!" Jackie said. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at the Doctor, who smirked and placed Scarlet onto the floor.

"Look at him." Rose said, happily.

"Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor?" Jackie asked, and then she noticed Harriet Jones. "Oh, my God! It's the bleeding prime minister!" She exclaimed.

"Come here you." The Doctor grinned, and held out his arms. Jackie threw hers around him.

"Aw! Are you any better?" She asked. "You had us worried sick! You should've seen her face." Jackie said, pointing to me. I blushed and bent down to talk to Scarlet.

"I am, yeah." The Doctor replied.

Alex walked over to Harriet Jones and whispered something in her ear. I pretended not to notice.

"You left me!" Jackie said to Rose.

"I'm sorry!" Rose replied.

"I had all the food!"

The Doctor turned to smile at Harriet, who feebly smiled back.

"Tell them to fire." She said.

"Fire at will." Alex said to his communicator. We waited, and a beam of green light shot from the ground. The energy shot into space and destroyed the Sycorax spaceship.

"No!" I yelled.

"What is that? What's happening?" Rose gasped.

Jackie put her hand over her mouth. The Doctor glared at Harriet Jones and walked towards her.

"That was murder!" I stressed.

"That was defence. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago." Harriet said defiantly.

"But they were leaving!" The Doctor said angrily.

"You said yourself, Doctor. They'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today - Mr Llewellyn and the Major. They were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case - we have to defend ourselves." Harriet replied.

"Britain's Golden Age." I said snidely.

"It comes with a price." Harriet shot back.

"I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run, as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming: The human race." The Doctor said angrily.

"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf." Harriet defended.

"Then I should've stopped you." The Doctor replied.

"What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?"

"Don't challenge me, Harriet.'Cos I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word." The Doctor spat, stepping towards her.

"You're the most remarkable I've ever met. But I don't think you're quite capable of that." Harriet spat, and I hissed at her.

"No, you're right. Not a single word." The Doctor said. He looked down at her for a moment.

"Just six." He said.

"I don't think so."

"Six words."

Stop it!"

"Six!" The Doctor said. They stared at each other. Something was going down in China Town. The Doctor then walked over to Alex. He took his ear piece off him and whispered something in his ear, so that Harriet couldn't hear.

"Don't you think she looks tired?" He whispered. I smirked.

He walked off, leaving Alex looking confused and Jones looking alarmed. He joined Rose, Jackie, Mickey, Scarlet and I and we walked off down the street.

"What did he say?" Harriet demanded.

"Oh, uh... nothing. Really." Alex said.

"What did he say?"

"I- nothing! I don't know!" Alex insisted.

"Doctor! Doctor! What did you- what was- what did he say? What did you say, Doctor? Doctor!" She called.

We all ignored her, but even the Doctor smirked when he heard Scarlet giggle.

We heard Harriet calm down a little.

"I'm sorry." She called. Alex walked away, leaving Harriet on her own.

In the TARDIS, I was tearfully packing child's clothes into a suitcase, and putting Scarlet into warm clothes. She was leaving us.

"Scarlet, honey. I'm doing this because I love you. The TARDIS is not a suitable place for a child, and I need to keep you safe. I promise, as soon as you are old enough, I will come back for you. But I need to give you something." I said, tears dripping down my face as I fished a necklace out of my pocket.

"This is a black ruby of Kaitcha. It will keep you safe. I want you to have this, too." I said, and after I clasped the beautiful necklace around her, I passed her my now empty fob watch. On the back was words inscribed.

'Forever' in Gallifreyan.

"I don't want to go." She whispered.

"I know, darling. I know. But I can't lose you. Not again." I said, and hugged her. "You're going to stay with my friend Lola. She moved out of her parents house and said she will look after you. I will visit you every day, but it might not be every day for you." I said sadly, and she nodded. She kissed my cheek, and held the fob watch in one hand and the black ruby in the other.

"Go and say goodbye to the Doctor and your friends." I said, and hugged myself when she skipped off.

I followed her, and whimpered as she hugged Rose, Jackie and Mickey and then when she turned to the Doctor (dressed in new attire) she leaped onto him and hugged him. He hugged her back, eyes squeezed tight.

"I'll see you around, kiddo." He said, and ruffled her hair before she walked back to me. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek again.

"Come on then." I said sadly, and I walked her out of the TARDIS and into Lola's house.

"Hey Scarlet!" She said, but refused to look at me.

"I still can't believe you changed your face." She said. I giggled, and she did too.

"Lola's going to take good care of you." I said to Scarlet. "She's my best friend. I love you." I said to Scarlet, and hugged her once more, before handing a load of cash to Lola.

"To bring her up with." I said, smiling bravely. Lola squeezed my shoulder, and showed me out.

"See you tomorrow El." She said, before shutting the door.

When I returned back to the TARDIS, tearful and anxious, everyone was stood outside, admiring the snow.

I joined the Doctor, who took off his long jacket and draped it over my bare shoulders. He put his arm around me, and pulled me into him.

"You OK?" He asked, burying his face into my hair. I nodded.

"It's not snow is it?" I said, my voice muffled in his chest. I heard his shake as he laughed.

"No." He said.

"It's beautiful anyway." I said. He then moved to stand in front of me.

He bent down to see into my eyes.

"I can't do it." He whispered.

"What?" I asked. He shook his head, and returned to how he was stood before.

I growled into his stomach. He chucked.

"So, where're we gonna go first?" Rose asked.

The Doctor pointed at a point in the night sky. "That way." He said. Then changed his mind. "No, hold on... That way."

"That way?" Rose asked. The Doctor nodded.

"Yeah, that way." I said softly, and we smiled at each other.

Back in the TARDIS, Rose had gone to bed.

The Doctor and I were sat, with our legs dangling out the TARDIS door into space.

We both had glasses of red wine in our hands.

He placed his on the floor behind him and turned to me.

"El, do you know how much I love you?" He asked. I turned to him and placed my wine glass down too.

"No." I said, and grinned teasingly.

"Oh." He said, and gulped and turned back to look out into space.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning around completely to face him.

He refused to look at me when he fished around in his pinstripe suit pocket and pulled out a small red velvet box.

"Human tradition requires a ring, I thought you might like it." He said gruffly, as he opened it.

The ring was beautiful. A thin silver band, with a black ruby of Kaitchai, the most expensive and rare stone in the universe (which is why I gave it to Scarlet.)

He stood up, adjusted his shirt, and bent down on one knee.

"Human tradition requires this too." He said, and finally looked me in the eye.

"I have the whole of eternity and back to live, and there's nobody I would rather spend it with than my soul mate. Will you marry me?" He asked.

I nodded, too teary to say anything else, and grinned as he grinned too. I threw my arms around him and buried my face into his neck.

"Try the ring." He said, and with shaky hands, he slid the ring onto my left hand.

I grinned at how pretty it is. I leaned in for the most passionate kiss of our relationship.

"You taste of red wine." He said.

"You taste of infinity." I replied, and he picked me up bridal style, kicked the TARDIS door shut with a conversed foot, and carried me to the bedroom.  
> <p>


	39. The Happy Couple

I woke up in a foreign bed, with the bluest of blue wallpaper on the walls. I turned over, dazed, hoping to be enlightened. Nobody was there but the sheets were crumpled.

"Oh, God." I mumbled. How much did I drink last night?

I turned back around, and hugged my pillow to my chest, closing my eyes again.

I noticed something sparkly and pretty on my finger, and my eyes shot open as I remembered.

I was engaged. To the Doctor.

I was engaged to the Doctor.

"Oh, God." I said again, but this time I grinned. I sat up in his bed, and pulled the sheets around me as I tried to find my clothes. They were flung all over the floor.

Whoops.

I blushed furiously as I remembered, and I quickly dressed myself and burst into the TARDIS console.

He was stood there, happily chatting to Rose. I wondered if he told her, yet.

He smiled warmly as I walked over, as did Rose.

She didn't squeal or ask to see my ring, though. I was a little disappointed.

"I haven't told her." He mouthed to me. I nodded my head in understanding.

I moved over to where Rose was standing and flashed my ring.

"Oh my, I'm having the worst hand cramps." I said, over acting. Rose looked up at me, and smiled sympathetically.

"Do you want me to get you some pain killers?" She asked, as she bent down to tie her laces.

"Let me do that." I said, and flashed my ring again as I tied them for her.

"Thanks, how did you know my back's hurting?" She asked, looking at me confused. I shrugged.

"Lucky guess." I said. I then yawned, and put my left hand over my mouth.

"Boy, am I tired." I said.

"I know, I could hear you two at it last night." She smirked. I blushed deeply and slumped into the jump seat.

"El, I know what you're getting at. I'm messing about. Now get over here so I can see that massive friggin' ring on your finger!" She exclaimed, grinning.

I grinned back and shot out of my seat. I showed her the ring and she squealed and hugged me.

"I'm so happy for you! He's been bugging me about what type of rings girls like. He actually believed I was clueless that he was going to propose!" She gushed to me. I snorted as we both sat down together. The Doctor stood, with his hands on his hips.

"Are you going to talk about me?" He asked.

"Yep." Rose said.

"Really?" He asked, sighing.

"Yep." Rose said again. I snickered as he slumped off, probably to do some fixing or something.

"Ha!" Rose said. "You're going to have the time of your life with him." She said warmly, and hugged me again.

"I know, Rose. I know." I whispered, as I gazed at my ring.

*

Aaaaaand that's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed reading this installment as much as I enjoyed writing it! The new story will be up sometime soon, but I'm away until Tuesday so unless I type a chapter out quickly tonight, that's probably when you'll get your next taste of the couple.

Please review, and keep the votes coming in! Just to let you know: If Eleanor does keep going off with different Doctor's, she's going to be engaged to them anyway, so it won't matter that she's not with Ten. Just if you wondered...

Anyway, thank you for your continuing support and lovely comments.

You know who you are.

-Fay xxx 


	40. Spin Off!

Please read my other FanFiction, it's a spin off to The Girl Who Sees Ghosts, and it's about Scarlet travelling when she's older.

A lot of you were interested in Scarlet, and I thought this might be interesting. Please check it out!

-Fay x 


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